


Hated In the Nation [Black Mirror AU]

by goodwineandcheese



Series: Black Mirror AUs [1]
Category: Black Mirror, Monster
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Attempted Suicide, Bad Ending, Crime Drama, Entomophobia, Gen, Gratuitous Tenma/Grimmer Fluff, M/M, Mass Murder, Men Crying, Postmodern Sci-Fi, Social Commentary, Suspense, ambiguous ending, discussion of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-08-25 15:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16663393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodwineandcheese/pseuds/goodwineandcheese
Summary: 387,036 people are dead, and Grimmer is missing. Tenma recounts the events that transpired, and the fatal error made on the part of the investigative team that resulted in such tremendous casualties, and remains unsure of how to cope with knowing that his own technology was the cause of it all. Worse still, the man behind it remains at large. Tenma is left to wonder if he'll ever serve for his crimes, and whether he himself can ever come to terms with the events.





	1. Maurer

**Author's Note:**

> Another Black Mirror/Monster AU! No one is surprised. This is an adaptation of my fav Black Mirror episode...again I’m aiming not to directly recreate the narrative from the episode, but if you know the particular episode you definitely know what’s coming.
> 
> A few things!  
> -This fic contains social commentary particularly criticizing social media; this is more or less the message conveyed in the particular episode of Black Mirror and is not meant to reflect anything more than that.  
> -Tenma is still a “doctor” in that he has a doctorate. In robotics engineering. Different doctor.  
> -Lunge is _not_ part of the BKA he’s just a regular ol police dude.  
> -Scenes at the hearing aren't meant to be realistic, idfk what that kind of scene would look like; those are mostly transitional pieces, so questions being asked will sort of relate to what's about to happen in the story.

Grimmer was dead.

He wasn’t among the hundreds of thousands that were killed; Grimmer’s presumed death came after. Suicide, that was the leading theory, though Tenma never knew him to be that sort of man. His belongings were found on the beach one day, with no sign of Grimmer himself. There was only a note - an apology, or something like it. Tenma had read it countless times. How he felt the weight of those deaths every waking moment, how no possible penance could ever absolve him of what he had caused. 

In his testimony, Inspector Lunge recalled that Grimmer in particular had taken the horrific loss of life hard. He was the one who fell to Johan’s ruse, who triggered his endgame. Tenma remembered that day all too well. He had never felt more hopeless than in the hours that followed the _incident_ , watching and knowing what had been unleashed on the world. Knowing that he was the one that created them. Grimmer might have fallen to Johan's trap, but Tenma had made it all possible.

The death toll came to 387,036 in all - more than a quarter million. 387,037 adding Grimmer’s alleged suicide to that number. It had been devastating enough on its own, but counting Grimmer among them...

Tenma would have to give his version of the story, too. He already knew the sorts of questions they might have for him, questions he didn’t particularly want to answer. It was wounding enough to be at the heart of such a tragedy; it only became worse having to face the scrutinizing questions - how it was he became involved in the case, the events immediately preceding the massive loss of life, his own mental health in the months after the tragedy...he didn’t want to talk about this any more, not to anyone. 

He was tired. He just wanted it all to end.

* * *

“Is there something on your mind?”

Tenma's voice was light and somewhat airy as he looked across the dinner table, brows creased in mild concern. There was a pensive atmosphere opposite to him, and absolute silence - except for the scraping of forks and the sharp _ting_ against their bowls. He enjoyed quiet, but during dinner, it was almost uncomfortable. He cleared his throat, trying again.

“Grimmer?”

The man looked up, suddenly alert as he regarded Tenma, slowly taking in the mild look of worry on his partner’s face. His features softened into something sheepish, and he hummed, leaning back.

“Ah. I was lost in thought, wasn’t I…?” He let out a huff, offering a small, droopy-eyed smile to Tenma. “That was a bit rude of me...I’m definitely not trying to ignore you. Did you ask me something just now?”

Tenma closed his eyes lightly and he shook his head, taking a spoonful of stew, chewing slowly to give his thoughts a moment to settle before he addressed the detective. 

“I didn’t think you were. I just asked if there was anything troubling you. You look a little..." His features shifted into a warm, subtle smile. "like you said, lost in thought.”

Grimmer took a moment, sitting back a little in his seat, staring at the ceiling for a second, watching a lone speck crawl across the pebbled white surface - a spider probably, or some other barely-visible insect that had crept its way into the house. His eyes closed again and he relaxed.

“It’s about the case I was assigned, the Maurer case. I don’t know, it's hard to say...but something about it seems strange.”

So, it was work related. It had been in the news - Tenma had read about it on his phone before Grimmer came home, though there wasn’t much known yet. Maurer had penned a particularly unfavourable article - blunt and perhaps a bit harsh, it had struck a chord with a fair portion of the German populace, and even wider spread on the net. Tenma hadn’t bothered to read Maurer’s article - not for lack of interest, but he preferred not to get caught in whatever social firestorm surrounded it. He’d wait for the rage to die down before taking it in for himself, free of external influences trying to sway his views before he’d even read the piece. 

An article was circulating social media. Maurer had turned up dead in his home earlier in the evening, and Detective Chief Inspector Heinrich Lunge - a mouthful of a title - had been assigned to the case, with the support of both Grimmer, and another fellow - a boy Grimmer had referred to as “young and a bit naive”. 

The prevailing theory among the comment threads was that it was a murder, committed by Maurer’s wife - the only witness to the crime, who had been injured in the altercation herself. The strain of their relationship was well enough known; it seemed to make sense - but then, it was dangerous to go by speculation. Tenma sat forward, eyeing Grimmer carefully.

“What’s strange about it?” 

Grimmer looked down at his nearly-finished meal, that pensive expression returning again.

“We questioned his wife. What she recounted to us was bizarre...there’s no need to go so far for a lie. She could have said anything. But I think she believes her story, that she's innocent. And from what I can tell...she doesn't seem the type to kill.”

Grimmer looked particularly uneasy, that distracted glaze coming over his eyes again. Something of what he'd seen there was definitely troubling. Tenma finished with his bowl and left it where it sat for the moment, stepping around the table to stand behind Grimmer, letting his hands gently rest on the other man’s shoulders, massaging circles there gently. Grimmer tensed briefly, then let himself ease backward, closing his eyes.

“If it’s too unsettling, you don’t have to talk about it. Don’t worry.”

Tenma...would certainly _like_ to know, the more he knew the more help he could be, but Grimmer definitely looked tired. If he wanted to just rest it off, that was fine. Beneath his massaging, Grimmer slowly started to relax, a contented sigh leaving his lips.

“I don’t mind talking about it. I suppose I’m more bothered that our chief inspector won’t consider other options. He sees a domestic homicide, but there’s still evidence to be analysed.”

After a short moment Grimmer stood, Tenma moving aside as the taller man collected both his and Tenma’s dishes and headed to the sink. He spoke over his shoulder, but it was loud enough that Tenma could hear.

“She said that her husband slit his own throat. He was drinking in his study. She heard him screaming, and something breaking. When she opened the door...she said he was trying to use the broken glass to...gauge at himself."

Tenma could almost feel his partner grimace as he took a moment's pause. Grimmer's expression shifted, almost apologetic. "It’s a bit grisly...and I’ll admit, it sounds strange.” He looked at his hands, then back to Tenma. “I don’t know, it’s difficult for me to put it together. But I really can’t see her committing such a brutal murder. I don't think she could.”

It really was a grotesque image, like Grimmer said. Though, it easily could have been a lie; he held his tongue, because there was always the _possibility_ she hadn’t done it, but even then...it didn’t sound like there was any conclusive evidence. Right now, the only viable suspect was the wife.

He watched Grimmer cross into the living room, plopping down comfortably on the couch and gesturing for Tenma to sit with him. He padded across the wood floor, sitting himself down next to Grimmer. He felt a hand tease his hair and sighed, closing his eyes and relaxing into the fond contact.

“That’s enough of my story, I think. What about you? And…” There was a short pause, Grimmer tilting his head, his smile shifting into a smirk. “Your bees?”

Tenma made a face, peering up through his bangs with a quirked brow.

“ADIs. They’re not _bees,_ I’m not a beekeeper.” 

“Yes, yes,” Grimmer relaxed backward, closing his eyes. “But they look like bees.”

Tenma relented with a huff, shaking his head. “The colonies are doing their job, as usual. I'm just running reports and monitoring activity, and keeping my intern entertained. Nothing very interesting.”

Getting his ADIs - Autonomous Drone Insects - off the ground had been a long process; the collapse of natural pollinator populations in Germany over the years saw an agricultural scare - no pollinators meant dwindling crops and an unbalanced ecosystem. Even so, it had taken just over two years for government funding to be approved for the project - and even then, they wouldn’t greenlight the project without extensive background research, and...certain stipulations Tenma didn't much like. Finally though, they had provided the company with the money and tools to get his concept out of its theoretical framework and into the real world. The ADIs had only been introduced to the public a year and two months ago, during the last spring. The results of the artificial pollinators were as expected - an improvement in the agricultural industry that, over the next several years using the ADIs, would only show better and better prospects. 

Grimmer hummed, lacing his fingers behind his head as he lazed. “So how is it you fill your time, with so little to do all day?”

Tenma scoffed, shifting a little on the couch, getting comfortable, reaching blindly for the remote - the news had probably already started. “It can be difficult sometimes. I have people to do the hard work for me, I just tell them what to do and then put the framework together.” He closed his eyes, letting out his breath in an almost wistful sigh. “Sometimes I miss it, being part of the bigger process.”

Tenma was always someone who liked to _do._ Guiding his staff was fine of course, but he missed being a part of it in a way - having that direct influence was something he lacked now, in more of a supervisory position. Though he couldn’t complain; he earned quite a bit more these days than he had in the project’s infancy. And, frankly, there wasn't as much _need_ \- it really was all maintenance now, maintenance and fine-tuning.

He felt a buzz from his pocket, earning a brief look from Grimmer, who quieted so his partner could check his phone as the weather report blared in the background - rain on and off for the next few days. Tenma leaned forward, flipping through his notifications. A message from Becker about his latest failed attempt to score a date..he’d give his friend credit for trying, but really, he didn't seem to understand women at all. The other ping was from Twitter, and-

Tenma narrowed his eyes, sighing heavily and pocketing his phone again, leaning backward into the sofa. He could sense Grimmer watching him even as he felt the resumed threading of his hair, pleasant and systematic.

“Trouble?”

He must have looked tense. Tenma tilted his head, leaning against Grimmer’s shoulder comfortably. 

“It’s nothing, just some...” He trailed off, turning his smile a little brighter. "It's nothing."

Grimmer shifted, sitting up a little. “You're sure?"

He didn't pry - that was always nice about him, Grimmer was willing to leave well enough alone if Tenma didn't make a fuss out of it, but that second ask, just in case, making absolutely _sure_ nothing was bothering the man, almost always got to Tenma. Somehow Grimmer usually got what he wanted anyway.

Tenma dug back into his pocket, pulling out his phone. "Just Eva. Things must not be going well with Martin."

The message read somewhat unpleasantly-

_#DeathTo Kenzo Tenma, fuck you!!!!!_

It was accompanied with a photo of him wearing his least-flattering yellow tie. Even though the breakup had been years ago, it seemed that whenever Eva had hit a particularly low spot, she bounced back to bitter resentment. 

Grimmer's brow creased. "Death to...?"

There was a sort of distaste in his tone, most likely incredulous that Eva would go so far as to throw death threats. Tenma shook his head, wetting his lips. “I've seen that tag around. I think it's some new unpopularity contest...the name and picture of someone you don’t like...or friends, if it's a joke. I guess I've been nominated.” He chuckled, catching Grimmer's eye with a smile to show that...really, he didn't care. "Nothing, like I said."

Grimmer took a moment more before handing the phone back to him, brushing his fingers lightly as he handed it over.

“I can't say I've seen it before, though I haven't been looking, I suppose. It seems sort of ugly for a 'game'. Not very nice.” He paused, then offered a small smile, turning just a little so his nose brushed Tenma's cheek. "But this is one competition you definitely won't win."

Tenma chuckled, eyelids starting to grow heavy. It was sweet encouragement, but not really necessary; he knew Eva was just down, he couldn't really blame her for feeling how she did. But still, the gesture was kind, and Tenma let his eyes slip closed, head resting comfortably against the warm body beside him.

“A bit early to be so tired, isn't it? Is sitting at a desk so exhausting?”

One eye opened to peer at Grimmer and his goofy smile.

“You're awfully cheeky this evening.”

Grimmer's brow quirked, mild mischief glinting in his gaze. “Yet you don't seem to be complaining.”

Tenma just shook his head, sitting up again so he could listen to the news. Just something drawling, easy to wind down with before they went to bed. Though it seemed he was unlucky; he'd tuned in for a somewhat disheartening story about a police detective - Richard Braun, apparently responsible for the drunken shooting of a teenage boy suspected in the assault and murder of six women. 

There really was nothing good about that kind of story...even if the boy _was_ guilty, there was a proper way to deal with criminals. Murder was never the answer.

He could feel Grimmer gently pull him in, closer against himself - the other man knew well enough how this sort of story affected Tenma, and was quick to comfort. Even if he could be emotionally ignorant toward himself, Grimmer had an uncanny ability to recognize Tenma’s own discontent, it seemed. Tenma leaned into the warmth gratefully, though he stayed silent.

It was an early night for the two of them, clearly exhausted from a day’s work and strain, but Tenma was glad at least to have a healthy rest that night, sleep claiming him swiftly as they retired to bed.


	2. Missing Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunge, Grimmer and Suk look into the murder of Maurer and come across some unexpected findings that change the nature of the crime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS IS A LONG CHAPTER but the rest are like half the length lol. Just slog through this one.
> 
> Also I only know like 1/4 of what I'm talking about with any of the techno babble type stuff so don't think too hard about it

There wasn't much to be done in the early hours - not helped of course that Grimmer was usually one of the first to the office, living nearest to the station. But, in the lull awaiting the arrival of his colleagues, he occupied himself as best he could - for now, scouring the depths of social media, following a curious inkling of an idea that had plagued him since last night. Pulling up Maurer’s mentions, he’d entered searches for particular language - threats, slurs and the like, made against him in the last day. It stood to reason that someone using such a loud platform to wish harm or death toward the victim could very well be willing to orchestrate his murder. Ah, and Tenma’s “game” from the previous night appeared in his searches - certainly more than a handful of times. He couldn't do much until forensics came back with an analysis of the evidence, but from this preliminary search he could at least compile a list of individuals who might have had a particular interest in Maurer's death. There had been multiple packages sent to the man by..."fans" of his article, it was possible that one such admirer had nefarious intent.

The man had been home alone with his wife, no appearances of forced entry. But, those packages had been willfully taken inside. It would be a while yet before forensics came back with anything...and of course, autopsy would probably have something to say regarding the circumstances of the victim's death.

Agent Suk had arrived midway through his work with a quiet hello, and had taken to reviewing camera footage from the night of the incident, at least when he wasn’t looking at his own personal news feed. Grimmer didn’t say anything; the junior detective was younger, a little more attached to that constant need for an update on this or that media platform. Such was the way of the youth.

“Why are you so sure it wasn’t Maurer’s wife?” 

Grimmer looked up from his screen, at the younger detective who was halfway looking back toward Grimmer. His eyes lowered to the list he was compiling, and he hummed.

“There were better lies to tell. It seems a bit strange, don’t you think? That she adamantly perpetuates her story, despite how clear the evidence appears to be. Most would recognize that there’s no other possible murderer. So continuing to deny the murder seems a bit odd.”

“Perhaps there’s something of the criminal mind that you do not understand, detective.”

The trickle of Chief Inspector Lunge’s voice was as chilling a sound as ever, though it only held bearing over the much younger Suk, who immediately closed out of his Facebook window and stiffened. Grimmer knew well enough not to be intimidated despite the chief's imposing tone, and maintained an overall calm as he turned to face the newly arrived inspector, who was setting down a coffee tray on the empty desk, holding one out to both Agent Suk and himself. He accepted with a smile, Lunge taking his own coffee as he sat at the unoccupied desk, crossing one leg over the other slowly.

“It’s precisely as you say. One would expect that sense kicks in - that in this situation, one recognizes the impossibility of a third party murderer. Of course, that assertion requires we make certain assumptions about our killer. We must assume a murderer kills in anger, remorselessly. But that statement forgets something very important, common to most humans.”

Sharp eyes on Grimmer had the man pause to think; clearly Lunge expected he give an answer...but the question became what he was looking for. What aspect of human nature he meant to discuss...now, that was a complex question. Though, he would much rather not play the chief inspector’s games. With a shrug and a tilt of his head, Grimmer leaned back in his seat.

“It seems you've got me stumped. If you would enlighten me…”

Lunge’s expression didn’t change as he addressed the two, waiting until Suk turned fully to face him. It was strange; though he maintained the same expression, there was almost an atmosphere of excitement in the air, something that Grimmer couldn’t perceive, but was inexplicably present.

“Guilt.”

There was a noticeable pause after the word, as though Lunge hoped it would sink in to the two of them. “Murderers are no cartoon figures who are only capable of hating their victims. Many retain a semblance of compassion, experiencing remorse even for actions against those they have killed - particularly in the case of spousal disputes. Imagine for a moment…”

Lunge’s left hand moved, the gesture familiar to Grimmer. The strokes of his fingers were rhythmic, like keys.

_”He cut his own throat with a shattered glass, and when I tried to stop him, he lashed out at me.”_

Lunge’s hands raised, fingers lacing in front of his face in a nearly menacing gesture.

“As Maurer’s wife, I become frustrated. This is the last time. I’ve had it with him...his behaviour is unchanging and irritable. Now, he’s produced an article that’s marred our name. The phone won’t stop ringing. I’m angry, and in a moment of high tension, I snap. The glass I’m holding breaks. I use it to slash my husband’s throat out, but he defends himself. When it’s over...when the emotional high recedes...I can’t believe what I’ve done. I tell myself I didn’t kill him. I believe myself. I would never kill my husband. I can’t possibly have killed him. I invent a story using what details I know. He attacked me. His throat was slashed with a glass. But it wasn’t me.”

The silence that followed was ominous, eerie. Grimmer recognized the technique - putting himself in the place of the killer. He couldn’t deny, there was merit in the suggestion. Guilt...human guilt, convincing the woman that she hadn’t killed him, inventing a story…but, still, Grimmer wasn’t willing to release his own theory without a proper investigation. Until it was disproved, the possibility remained that the murder had been committed, or at least instigated, by a third party. With a nod, Grimmer turned back toward his station.

“All the same, I’ve compiled a list of individuals who may have a particular interest in Maurer’s demise. I'm specifically looking for individuals that have apparent connections to the victim. Ah, and Suk has been reviewing security footage. Due diligence, I suppose.”

There was only a slight shift in Lunge then - a quirk of his eyebrow as he stood from his seat, stepping around to stand over Grimmer’s shoulder. Grimmer took a sip of his coffee, turning the monitor toward Lunge to look. From the corner of his eye he could see the twitch of fingers, Lunge inputting that data into his brain. Not for the first time he found himself wishing he were capable of the same.

“Interesting….yes, he did receive quite a bit of hate on the net when his publication hit worldwide news. Though, I would be wary of using social media death threats as a measure of genuine hatred. When it comes to the internet, all it takes is another story to shift the masses.”

Lunge took a moment’s pause, reviewing the information quietly for a second time. “...But you’re right that we must explore all possibilities." He tapped the screen, eyeing one of the more vulgar threats from the list. "Gerbrecht is a name I recognize...the sender of one of the packages for analysis. That he made an outright threat against Maurer certainly holds promise. Please continue, and broaden your search; look for current and former colleagues, neighbours and the like. Suk, is there anything of note on the camera’s footage…?”

The two waited for a response, though Suk seemed not to have heard, by the stretch of the silence. Both Grimmer and Lunge turned to see Suk staring with furrowed brows at his phone, shaking his head, only to notice eyes on him. He turned sheepishly, staring at Lunge like a deer in headlights. 

“The footage. Was there anything of note?”

Suk looked down, then back up to Lunge, eyes entirely averting his screen. “Not really. The quality’s a bit shoddy, so there _could_ be something, but it’s hard to tell. Though one of the cameras - back of the house, rear kitchen window - looks like it’s been out for a while. There’s no feed from that one, so I guess someone could...you know...but that’s the only possibility.”

Lunge tapped that information into his internal hard drive, giving a small hum. “Fair enough. And Suk….”

There was a tension that followed, palpable despite the calm of Lunge’s voice.

“I’d like you to prioritize your focus on work.”

The boy’s face flushed a little and he swallowed, nodding stiffly.

“Right, yes sir. I’m sorry, inspector.”

The two were left to their coffee and their tasks, Lunge taking the time to generate a report of the case from the quiet of his office. With their terribly intense chief out of earshot, Grimmer turned his focus on the still pink-eared junior detective, a light smirk playing at his features as he tapped the younger man’s shoulder. 

“A bit bold of you to leisurely check your messages while the Chief is in the office.”

He meant no harm with his words, of course - it was a jest at the younger man’s expense, a little ribbing he was accustomed to with Grimmer. Suk only flushed rubbed the back of his neck.

“Well, that’s...I was just checking the news, but one of the stories was...you saw the news last night, didn’t you? That detective, Braun...well it turns out that he’s been given paid suspension...so even though he’s been pulled, he’s still getting paid despite what he did. People aren't happy about it. And well, I wouldn't bother with it but it’s just...I knew him, you know? We were stationed together before I started here. I was just hoping there was more information about what happened. I didn't know him that well, but still, it's just shocking when someone you know turns out to be a killer.”

Grimmer’s teasing tone receded at Suk’s more honest response. It was a bit cruel to tease for something that was probably quite worrying to the boy. He hummed thoughtfully, turning his attention back to his own work, starting new files for his would-be list of suspects.

“It's really eating at you. I hope that wasn’t too rude of me.” 

Suk eyed him over, smiling in what seemed to be a genuine sort of way before shrugging.

“No, it’s fine. I mean I was still distracting myself with something that’s...well you know, I could’ve waited until lunch...especially with Lunge around, you know…”

Both chuckled that time, getting back to their assigned tasks.

It was busywork, but it was necessary; putting together profiles allowed them to more quickly narrow down their list of individuals worth investigation - though, clearly the chief remained doubtful that anyone outside of Maurer’s wife could be responsible. Lunge was dead-set on his statement, but as long as there was a proper investigation, Grimmer was happy.

It took a little time, but all three detectives put together what was known, helping to thin the numbers on his potential list, leaving only individuals who were somehow in contact with Maurer within the last 24 hours. The finalized list saw them with a total of ten names, which Lunge had put on the front-facing monitor in the briefing room.

“What we know is that Maurer’s throat was slashed with a glass, the same weapon used to slash across his wife’s abdomen. We know that no points of entry showed any signs of force. Forensics is in the middle of analyzing our evidence and as of yet has found nothing out of the ordinary. I imagine the autopsy report will detail more to the precise time of Mr. Maurer’s death, but until then we must assume it was shortly after 5PM, at which time the neighbours called the police.”

Grimmer and Suk both acknowledged, and Lunge continued, gesturing toward the ten profiles put onto the front screen. He tapped each of them, spreading them out so they were all viewable on the monitor.

“We’re fortunate to be narrowed down to ten. Of them, only three shared any direct contact with Mr. Maurer. Harmon was a colleague who started the petition to have Maurer fired, while Gerbrecht and Bertholdt both delivered packages to Maurer after the publication of his article.” With one hand, he flicked the three names to the left side of the screen. “For the moment, we’ll focus on them.” He glanced to Suk, then to Grimmer.

“You and I will collect our statements. Suk, I would like you to remain here. Forensics should finish their analysis, and I'd like you to ready a report. Please let us know if you encounter any new developments.”

Suk only nodded in reply. It wasn’t quite as fun to be left in the office, but, it was as Lunge said; there were more results to analyse as they came in. Grimmer closed down his computer and waved a casual goodbye, following Lunge out of the station and toward his car, sliding into the passenger seat and buckling himself in.

“So I suppose it’s to Gerbrecht first, then?”

Lunge maintained his sights on the road ahead as he started the engine, buckling himself in once they had started. “Indeed. It stands to reason we begin with the three who were last in contact with the victim. I have my doubts that they were involved, but proving as much gives us greater leverage in approaching his wife. With zero alternative suspects, she’ll have no choice but to confess to the murder.”

He really wasn’t willing to consider an alternative at all...but, in the end, Grimmer couldn’t much blame him. All evidence seemed to point towards the wife, even if it was only circumstantial. But all the same, it came across strangely. He had a hard time explaining it, but...he didn’t believe that woman could commit murder. Grimmer tilted his head, watching the lights as they drove by.

“You should probably at least have an open mind. If you’ve decided already, then your mind won’t be so willing to accept new data, will it?”

Lunge’s eyes flicked briefly toward him, then back to the road, his expression largely unchanged. There was no malice in Grimmer’s statement after all, merely observation. 

“Perhaps. But consider, your source is social media. It’s quite common for the masses to target a single individual and use them as an outlet of their anger, but that hate shifts quickly. It’s hatred of an idea, not of a person. In fact, I believe Suk was catching up on the latest enemy of the masses, was he not? I would imagine if you were to search Maurer’s name now, the prior hate he received will have dwindled significantly. The internet has found a new enemy. But a spouse…”

Lunge’s expression became thoughtful then as he pulled into a parking lot, the visitors section near the school where Gerbrecht was employed. 

“A partner you’ve lived with for years...there’s nothing halfway about that sort of intimate passion. As much the hatred as the love.”

There was something about the way he said it that seemed particularly...personal. Grimmer of course knew his colleague’s background - the separation from his wife hadn’t seemed particularly ugly, but then, he only saw it through the steeled, professional eyes of Lunge in the office, who had already set his emotions aside. The words were coming out of his mouth before Grimmer could quite stop them, though even then, he wasn’t sure that he would have.

“From experience…?”

It took a moment for him to really register, perhaps he was _intrigued…_ but, that was certainly inappropriate to ask so abruptly. Lunge only gave him a pointed look and a shrug as he stepped out of the car.

“You may draw your own conclusions, detective.”

There was nothing unusually cold in his words, nothing uncharacteristic. If he was bothered by the invasiveness of the question, he certainly didn’t show it. Grimmer gave a small nod of his own, straightening his shirt as he started toward the door with Lunge.

Best not to address it, as someone who had never experienced such a relationship. Though for that, he thought himself quite blessed.

* * *

Tenma could feel their eyes on him. He could also feel his throat shrivel and dry with every moment. There was that glass of water beside him, he supposed he could take a sip to ease his throat, but he didn’t feel particularly comfortable. It was clearly there _for_ him, yet somehow he felt he shouldn't.

“We realize that this all took place before you were officially involved. But for consistency’s sake, could you please confirm for us the date of the second death?”

There was absolute silence that followed. Tenma could feel the heat of the light bearing down on his face, knew he was watched by everyone, even more than those present. Families in their homes, viewers on their breaks, anywhere else the hearing was being broadcasted...everything he said was to the public now. He felt exposed under the weight of that knowledge.

“The death of Detective Richard Braun occurred one day after that of Maurer, at the same time I believe. Close to five, that evening.”

“And is that when you were contacted?”

Tenma felt that weight in his chest, the guilt that burned his heart.

“Not about the ADIs, no. It wasn’t until the next morning. They didn't suspect anything until then.”

“And what time was that? Do you remember?”

The voice was warm enough, he knew there was no malicious intent behind the interrogation. Still, he couldn’t find comfort in it. His eyes went to the glass of water. He wanted to drink, but it seemed almost strange to him.

“Around…”

...he really did need that water.

“...ten in the morning. They came to meet me then. Lunge and Grimmer.”

* * *

It was the autopsy report, two days after Maurer’s death, that proved Grimmer’s uncertainties to be correct.

Schumann had been quick to call the three of them to the lab in the early hours. It was a bit unusual procedure - ordinarily there was no need for them to all see the results - Lunge often took care of that and briefed them himself. But there was something _different_ this time, something that Schumann had found. It sat on the table beside his operating tools, on a round pitri dish: a puzzling little anomaly that he had discovered inside the murdered Maurer’s brain.

It was Grimmer who recognized it first, his brows knitting together. He couldn’t say exactly _how_ the little insectoid machine could have gotten lodged in the victim’s brain and any possible explanations that came to mind were...certainly unpleasant in nature. He watched as Lunge stepped forward, lifting the dish to examine more closely what exactly he was looking at.

“Interesting. An Autonomous Drone Insect. As produced by genius microrobotics engineer Dr. Kenzo Tenma of Granular Technologies. And, if I’m not mistaken,” he glanced toward Grimmer then, his free hand had begun that habit again, the typing, ticking of his fingers, “your partner of three years. I imagine you would have noticed if your other half had designs for deadly microrobots.”

He wasn’t quite sure if Lunge was attempting a joke; there was something sinister about his tone, almost threatening. But, then, Lunge was known to become particularly intense when he grew genuinely interested by a case. Grimmer eyed his superior with a troubled expression.

“I can say with absolute certainty that Kenzo has no untoward intentions in using the ADIs.”

Lunge closed his eyes, shaking his head. “Oh, I don’t doubt that. After all, there are far more convenient and less traceable ways to commit a murder. Though, it’s possible that Granular Technologies doesn’t share the noble vision of its greatest engineer. Someone who, perhaps, feels overshadowed by his genius.” He placed the dish back on the table, glancing toward Schumann. “Exactly how did our pollinator find its way so far from home?”

There was a short pause as Schumann gathered his words. Suk had looked away, clearly disturbed by the sight - of the three, he was the least experienced with this part of the job. He showed himself out, catching a glance from Lunge, who only gave a short nod of approval. Only once the door closed did Schumann speak.

“This was nestled in Maurer’s dorsal posterior insula. In simple terms, the pain center of the brain. It’s incredibly sensitive. Imagine having this thing burrow through there. That sort of pain…”

There was a grim atmosphere about both men then. Even Lunge, who had seemed intrigued moments ago, had sobered to something more unnerved.

“Maurer cut his own throat with a glass. In such unbearable pain, he was desperate. He wanted it to end, in any way possible. When his wife tried to stop him, he lashed out.”

In a way….Grimmer almost would have preferred if Lunge’s theory had been correct after all.

* * *

Granular was an impressive technological corporation; it was responsible for several of Germany’s leading developments of the last decade, earning worldwide acclaim through the success of the ADIs the year prior. The corporation was responsible for several developments, of course - self-healing materials that used nanotechnology to make automated repairs, an imaging system that helped users visualize weakened memories - or dull the memory, when inverted - and more. It was a large business with plenty of skilled, genius-level intellects manning its many projects, but they had interest only in Dr. Kenzo Tenma.

They were greeted in the first-floor lobby by his intern, Lotte Frank, who by now was particularly familiar with Grimmer. She smiled when she saw him, setting down the tablet she was carrying so she could wave him over.

“Grimmer, hey! I’m a little surprised, Tenma isn’t expecting you...was there something I can do for you?”

Her gaze shifted slowly, taking in the more severe figure of Lunge with something of a delayed, tense response. It was only after seeing him that the young intern seemed to recognize that perhaps this wasn’t a social visitation.

“Lotte, what can you tell us about the ADIs…?”

Grimmer’s tone was reassuring, and seemed to ease her somewhat. The girl wrung her hands and looked between the two. 

“They….well, they’re sort of a temporary replacement for bees and other major pollinators...until we can find out what caused the nationwide colony collapse in the first place. They’re powered by the sun, and entirely self-maintain...most of the time anyway, we have to fix them sometimes. Mostly when there’s something wrong with a hive.”

“Your ADIs. They can malfunction?”

She visibly tensed somewhat at the more severe tone of Lunge, but maintained a moderate calm about herself. “I mean, they’re still a piece of hardware. If something goes wrong internally, they fall. They just break, but that’s really all...is…” She cut herself off, swallowing. “Is there an issue…?”

Lunge’s response was a short nod. “If you wouldn’t mind seeing us to the doctor, there is something of importance we wish to discuss with him.”

Inspector Lunge chose a milder voice than his usually more imposing tone - a wise decision dealing with someone who certainly seemed intimidated by him. Lotte still seemed _uncertain,_ but he could hardly blame her; it was irregular practice to disturb employees during working hours. She stood a little straighter, hands clasping behind her back.

“I have to bring him a…um.” She paused, gesturing to the tablet she’d set down to wave over Grimmer. “A report he requested. I can take you to him. Did something happen? With the ADIs? Mister...”

Lunge reached slowly for his badge in his breast pocket, turning it around for the girl to look. “Chief Inspector Heinrich Lunge. And we’re not sure, that’s why we need to speak to Doctor Tenma. We believe one of his ADIs may be involved in our current murder investigation.”

Behind her round spectacles, Lotte blinked several times, as though she’d caught a fleck of dust underneath her eyelids. Her mouth fell open for a moment, her posture loosening to something more uncertain, her eyes flicking between the two detectives.

It was the interruption by Tenma himself that broke the uncertain silence, the doctor exiting an elevator carrying a small tablet, tapping and swiping at the screen, clearly engrossed in what he was doing. He paused, glancing up with a small smile to see Lotte, and lowered the data device to his side so as to easier address the girl.

“Lotte, there you are. I was wondering where you’d gone. Do you have the report I…”

As delayed as Lotte had been, Tenma only just then registered the two detectives that stood almost ominously - or at least, that was the case for Lunge, who seemed incapable of relaxing.

“Inspectors. Is...there something I can help you with?”

The good doctor had quickly shifted from his usual, warmer tone to something a bit more formal...which, in this case wasn’t entirely necessary, but it seemed to be Kenzo’s preference. While addressing Grimmer in the capacity of a detective rather than his partner, he opted for a formal approach - something Grimmer respected in turn. 

In the span of a few short moments, the young intern’s face underwent a myriad of different emotions, landing somewhere between shock and horror. She placed herself between Lunge and the engineer, shaking her head up at him in what was certainly an act of boldness. 

“Doctor Tenma hasn’t done anything wrong! There’s no way...there’s no way. Whatever it is he didn’t do it!”

Her plea was...cute in a way, as truthfully neither detective placed Kenzo as the culprit; certainly Grimmer would have had a word with his superior if Lunge had any such notions on his mind. Lunge seemed somewhat at a loss - or, rather, didn’t seem to know quite what to say to both placate the girl and convey the message without coming across as….well, as himself. Grimmer took the silence as his opportunity, raising both hands in a placating gesture.

“Tenma isn’t a suspect, I can definitely assure you of that. But, he’s the best person available to tell us more about the ADIs. We need his expertise.” His eyes flicked up, and he glanced between Tenma and Lunge. “....Though I imagine, a change of venue might be in order…”

Tenma seemed no less uncertain; Grimmer’s words had placated Lotte, certainly, but it still remained that _something_ was the matter, something that concerned his ADIs. It was only natural for the good doctor to be anxious. He led both detectives and his intern along, up three levels to what was probably the most bizarre sort of “office” floor in the building - or, it seemed as much to Lunge; Grimmer had seen it enough times to be accustomed to the look - more like a greenhouse than a real office. Even here, there were hives of ADIs, certainly docile in appearance as they flew about lazily from flower to flower.

They certainly didn’t _seem_ dangerous. 

Tenma took a sharp turn, pushing open a heavy metal door. Even standing at the entrance, the shift in temperature was refreshing; Grimmer couldn’t help the quiet sigh of relief as they entered what he recognized as effectively the “operations” room, where Tenma and any of his assistant techs could review the activity of all ADIs. There were several computer monitors around the singular, small work station, while the far wall was a projection of what looked like a map of Germany, with small yellow lights representing...something, probably the ADIs.

Tenma closed the door behind them, then stood up straighter, looking between the two detectives cautiously.

“All right. Tell me what it is you need to know.”

Lunge produced the ADI Schumann had removed from the body, enclosed in a small cyllindrical container, and held it out to Tenma.

“Is this one of yours?”

Almost reluctantly, Tenma took the object from Lunge’s hands, removing the small, insectoid machine to examine it more closely. He set it down on a small, round device that seemed to be wirelessly connected to his computer. As soon as he placed the small insectoid drone down, a window appeared in the middle of the main monitor, spitting out information that neither Lunge nor Grimmer could read, but seemed to make sense to Tenma. He ticked a few keys, hit enter, and the window disappeared. Tenma drew a slow breath, then nodded.

“Yes. It’s registered as belonging to hive H-80, which is….”

He entered a few more characters into the keyboard, and this time the map on the far wall shifted, a small segment highlighting in blue.

“Here, these are all the ADIs registered under that hive. I should be able to see if one is missing...they each have a unique identifier, incremented based on the hive they’re from...so I can always see where each individual ADI is at any time.”

Lunge gave a quiet hum of affirmation. “Your ADI was found in the body of the recent journalism sensation Maurer. I’m sure you know him. The drone was discovered during autopsy, burrowed inside the victim’s brain. We were wondering if you could explain to us how that might have happened.”

Tenma’s face had gone a rather pale shade, his eyes narrowing. He looked altogether a bit ill. But, for the moment, he managed to maintain himself rather well.

“It _shouldn’t_ happen. When something malfunctions, the ADIs...they break, they fall to pieces.”

“Indeed, your intern said the same thing. But as you can see, that wasn’t the case this time.” Lunge looked from the doctor to the map on the wall, with that one area highlighted. “Who all has access to the controls? Yourself, your intern...who else has access to give the ADIs directions?”

Tenma stared at Lunge, seemingly confused for a moment, before an understanding dawned on him.

“We don’t...no, that’s not how they work. They’re...autonomous. Completely self-operated. They receive their instructions from their hive...which borrows algorithms from the root code that was written, and substitutes coordinates based on the hive’s location.”

He paused, glancing at Lunge, watching the seemingly erratic, almost threatening gestures of his fingers, keying information into his own hard drive so to speak.

“You’ll have to forgive me. I’m not particularly fluent when it comes to computer programming and the like. If you could elaborate.”

Tenma was visibly uncomfortable, no doubt left to process the fact that his ADI might have been taken to nefarious use. He glanced toward Grimmer, taking silent reassurance in his presence before he continued, choosing his words carefully.

“We...that is, the team, wrote...the basic algorithm. What the ADIs are supposed to do, where they’re supposed to go, the exact range they have before returning to the hive. Now obviously that only covers a certain area...let’s say right here. Like….” He paused, eyes darting around briefly before he glanced at the two men again. “Sorry, pen...do either of you…?”

Lunge handed him a pen and pad of paper, and Tenma nodded in thanks, flipping it open to a new page. He drew a circle, leaving a fair amount of the page empty. He tapped inside. “This is the area the ADIs are told to cover. The hive is at the center. But that means…” He moved the pen, scribbling a little in the empty space outside the circle. “Everything here is blank, empty. The ADIs won’t go here because it’s beyond the range I’ve given them. That circle represents a certain range, and the hive is given a certain set of coordinates at the center. So if I were to put another hive somewhere else...if I were to _exactly_ duplicate the code, the algorithm would use the same coordinates. It wouldn’t matter that the hive was over here...so instead I make the coordinates an empty variable. Like….”

..He was getting back into higher level language, or at least too technical for Lunge to catch. Tenma squinted, thinking for a moment. “...I make it so that the location of the hive - again, the center of that circle - is a fillable unknown. When a hive is created, it copies the base algorithm and fills that unknown with its own location. Everything else stays the same - the function of the ADIs, the distance they’re allowed to travel...but that distance is translated by the location of the new hive. So they can still only travel within that limited range, it’s just that the hive knows its own location, and relays that to the ADIs, which tells them where they’re meant to cover. They can change hives if they reach the outer range...but I can always track their movement.”

Lunge took a moment to process it, seemingly...understanding this time, at least better than before. “...And how many ADIs are in each nest?”

Tenma opened his mouth, then shut it - _nest_ and _hive_...right now terminology was such a menial issue it wasn’t worth correcting him. “...It ranges between about….two thousand to three thousand, roughly.”

There was a near-palpable atmosphere of incredulity that filled the air, the detective grasping the sheer complexity of Tenma’s system - something Grimmer had already known to _some_ degree, but even he was quite impressed. Though, presently, it _did_ make them seem almost ominous...at least, considering how it was the ADI was used.

Grimmer, though, had an idea...Tenma had said something earlier, about the _location_ of the nest. He stepped toward the good doctor and his terribly impressive control station, reaching across the other man to swipe the keyboard from him for a moment. Tenma gave him a look, questioning, though he didn’t voice it. Grimmer answered regardless, posing a question of his own.

“If each hive regulates a certain area, and the hive’s location is reported to you...I wonder, if I were to guide your map to a certain location….perhaps the address of the victim’s home...would you be able to trace back the activity of the ADIs in any nearby hive…?”

Tenma blinked, nodding slowly and stepping aside. Grimmer pulled out his phone, verifying the address before he keyed it into the search, watching the map rapidly close in on a familiar-looking house. As before, there were little glowing lights - one yellow, and countless blue lights.

“And what time was it? When Maurer was….”

The doctor paused mid-sentence, eyes falling to the keyboard. Perhaps he felt it wasn’t necessary to finish his sentence. Grimmer didn’t mind, he could understand Tenma’s position.

“Around 5PM, I believe.”

There was more magic at the keys, and the blue dots on the map started to move.

“I’m winding back the clock….they transmit their signal so I can monitor their behaviour at any time. The blue dots are individual ADIs. The yellow one represents a hive - so as you can s…”

Tenma frowned, looking between the map and a second monitor next to him, his brows furrowing. He wound the time back, then forward again, halting just a few minutes prior to 5PM, if the virtual clock was to be believed.

“One of the….that’s….”

Again he wound the time backward, then forward, his complexion growing paler than it already was, near ghostly now.

“I told you that each ADI has a unique identifier, a name….you know, in the hive’s registry, so I can keep track of them. And one...just disappeared. I can see them all here, but…”

He was looking at the monitor in front of him. All Grimmer could see was lines with letters and numbers, but it seemed to make sense to Tenma. He _did_ notice, though, that where Tenma was indicating, the numbers jumped; H80_AD2321 was immediately followed by H80_AD2323. 

“Would you say, doctor, your machines could be hacked?”

Lunge’s voice came from closer than either expected, causing both to look back in mild surprise, though Tenma’s tenseness was far more a result of his own findings than the imposing inspector’s presence. He wet his lips, blinking a couple times, his eyes zeroing back on that blank space.

“That shouldn’t be possible. It’s...the entire system is under three levels of security. We're talking about military-grade encryption, it shouldn’t…no one should be able to break in.”

“But it's not impossible. I say it, doctor, because that appears to be the only possibility. And, however unlikely, so long as the possibility is higher than zero percent, we must consider it. So I’ll ask again, to be sure...is it possible, doctor?”

There was a brief silence, Tenma nodding slowly.

“It would have to be….within a few feet of the hive. If someone’s jamming our signal and tricking the ADIs into thinking it’s part of a phantom hive, then it has to be within a few feet. That’s the only way they could hijack a single ADI like that.”

Lunge nodded, humming contentedly. “I believe that’s plenty of information for now. Thank you for your cooperation, doctor.”

Tenma nodded in response, though it seemed a half-hearted gesture. Grimmer glanced back at the inspector for a moment. “I’m sorry, would you give me a moment? It won’t take long.”

Lunge quirked a brow, but said nothing. “Five minutes. I suppose I can take the time to relay the information to detective Suk.”

He headed back through the heavy doors.

Grimmer said, and did, nothing until he heard the thud of the doors closing. Only after he was quite certain it was only the two of them did he move, placing a hand warmly on Tenma’s shoulder, giving a slight squeeze.

“How are you feeling?”

His voice was spoken softly, though Tenma didn’t look up. He closed his eyes, shaking his head slowly. “Yes. I mean...fine, I’m...I’ll be all right. It’s just…” 

He paused, glancing down, then back to Grimmer.

“It feels a little strange to think that one of my...the ADIs was used to kill someone. Of all things. Of all ways to...” 

Tenma shuddered, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“They’re not supposed to kill. It’s just shocking.”

The hand on Tenma's shoulder started drawing gentle circles against him in a soothing gesture. He kept his eyes forward, looking at the screen.

“Do you suppose you can set up a trigger of some kind, something to notify you if one of your ADIs has gone missing?” His hand shifted, releasing Tenma so he could stand beside him. “Until we have the culprit, there’s a strong possibility they have the ability to hack into your ADIs. Some sort of precaution wouldn’t hurt.”

Tenma closed his eyes, considering Grimmer’s words. His gently spoken voice brought some comfort, and allowed him to think more clearly. 

“I could send a signal to the hives...and sort of boobytrap the ADIs. I can add a bogus parameter to them...it won’t serve any functional purpose, but anyone hacking them from the outside won’t know to look for it...and if an ADI changes hives in an unusual way it’ll show up on my map. I’ll see what’s happening before any real damage has been done.”

Ah, not a bad plan! Grimmer hummed, letting his hand slip down, fingertips just slightly brushing against the good doctor’s. He leaned in, placing a light peck to Tenma's cheek.

“I think that’s an excellent idea. I know you can do it, Kenzo. Though I can’t stay any longer; the Inspector’s probably coming to collect me by now. But I’ll see you tonight.”

Tenma laced his fingers with Grimmer’s for only a brief moment, before letting him go again, turning to face the taller man.

“Thank you. I’ll call you if something happens, I imagine another rogue ADI might mean trouble. If it happens...just make sure you can hear your phone ringing.”

Grimmer nodded, making sure to wave at the door before he left Tenma - and his patiently-waiting intern outside - to their work. Lunge was sitting by the front entrance, a perplexed sort of look on his face as Grimmer approached.

“Good, you’re ready. And with impeccable timing.”

Grimmer blinked, but before he could speak, Lunge was filling the void.

“It seems Suk has been doing his homework. There’s been a second murder. Neither victim knows one another, though they certainly had enough in common, being widely hated by the media prior to their death. I believe that Suk may have found the connection himself; he’s eager to show us something of ‘great importance’.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HHHHH that was a long long chapter. I thought about splitting it but alas...
> 
> Tenma speaking geek is something I realize now I absolutely _love_...but what is it Suk discovered I wonder...


	3. Swarm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suk discovers a pattern to the ADI killings. Lunge and Grimmer take actions to prevent yet another death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m using the name Melse for Reichwein’s assistant, though I think she was also called Merideth? I’m not sure which is correct but Melse is more German, lol.

Usually waiting for detectives Lunge and Grimmer to return was pretty quiet. Often enough, Suk had time to read the news or catch up on a few things on facebook and read his feeds until they got back because...as much as Lunge said having him here was what they needed - “just in case” - there never _was_ a ‘just in case’ incident, so he wound up sitting around like a lump until either they returned or evidence was processed.

This time, it was the latter.

Actually, it was Schumann who called him down. He’d apparently been on the phone with another doctor - Oppenheim, a former colleague at another hospital where Schumann used to work. There'd been an incident last night - Braun had been reportedly having some sort of seizure before he died of some unknown cause, and was brought in for a CT scan.

And well, since the scanner was...a giant magnet…

Oppenheim’s discovery of a second ADI had been a bit more on the gruesome side. Suk hadn't seen the pictures, but from what was described, it wasn’t pretty. But that meant there were two people, within two days, who’d been killed by those things. And it looked like...it was the same way? The ADI had been inside his head…

It did sort of make Suk wonder, though. Braun had been pretty violently hated on all yesterday, just like Maurer before him. He pulled the list Grimmer had collected earlier, and entered a search of his own on Braun. He wanted to see if there were any users that had threatened both Maurer _and_ Braun. It made sense to Suk that someone who was threatening both of them might have been the one to kill them...

Lunge had said not to touch social media but this time was different, he was actually doing this _for_ work.

He wasn’t getting anywhere with any of the names Grimmer had narrowed down last time, but he _did_ find something else that caught his attention. Mostly on Twitter, there were those….hashtag games. #DeathTo tags were all over the place, and he remembered seeing a bunch for Maurer, too. So even if there wasn't any correlation in the people wishing hate on the two victims....they _did_ have something in common. Maybe it was a long shot, but...

Well it was worth looking into, at least, while he had the time.

* * *

“So to be clear, again, doctor. You had been familiar with this hashtag game even before the original case.”

Tenma was starting to feel a little more comfortable - at least enough to drink some of the water, though by now it had gotten warm. He gave a slow nod, setting the glass down again.

“That’s right. I saw it a few times throughout the day. I came up as one of the nominees on the first day, by my ex-fiancee. I didn’t think much of it then.”

Thinking about it now, he could have been one of the victims himself, if he had enough enemies. That was disturbing.

“Then you didn’t know the rules at the time.”

Tenma only shook his head in response. He hadn’t known the rules until after the second death was reported. He'd never thought to look into it; at the time, it really was no more than a game. One he hadn't particularly wanted anything to do with.

“What puzzled us at first was how the ADIs recognized their target. Was there an algorithm involved?”

Whatever mild calm Tenma had managed to gather faded, replaced with something sickly and uneasy. He nodded, more slowly this time. "Johan...collected the data from the users who participated in the game each day. The individual with the most votes became the target of the ADIs."

“How did the ADIs track their targets?”

Again there was that sick twist. The public knew about this, so he shouldn’t have felt as much unease as he did. He wet his lips, looking down at the stand, away from prying eyes.

“The photographs. You’re aware of the...Ministry of the Interior’s involvement in the ADI project, authorizing the funding and facility requirements to get them off the ground.”

“The Ministry of the Interior supplied the majority of Granular Technology’s resources for this project, yes.”

Tenma took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “The stipulation was that visual imaging technology would be incorporated into the ADIs. Sort of like surveillance. At any time, the Ministry can request that data from me and if the threat level is high enough, then I'll activate the camera feed of all ADIs in the threat location.” 

Even if it was held under lock and key, he’d never liked it. The program lead had been firm, though, unwilling to let the project fall flat, and the Ministry of the Interior wasn’t about to budge on its stipulations. If they didn't comply, they would be denied. So, the project had moved forward. He looked back up, swallowing thickly.

“Johan Liebert...when he hacked into the ADIs, he had access to everything. He would use the photos submitted by Twitter users and send the ADIs to...attack a specified target. That way only the targets would be killed.”

* * *

Suk certainly seemed a bit..antsy, when he met the returning detectives. He barely seemed able to stand still at all, ushering them to his desk with mutters of _something you need to see_ and _important_.

“It turns out...well while you were away...well, we received news, something from last night, nowhere near our jurisdiction so we didn't hear about it until now. There’s been a second victim. The same method. We...uh, well Schumann has it...but he was contacted by a doctor in Frankfurt, someone he used to work with. It was Braun this time.”

Surprising that Suk seemed to be as…. _lively_ as he was, with that news. Particularly knowing the method...even if his former colleague was crooked, learning that would probably have...some sort of effect on Suk, but he seemed almost frantic in his wild energy, or that was how it seemed to Grimmer.

“I thought...since you were gone I’d go ahead and look into it myself. There’s not a lot I can do stuck here so I was checking the list of possible suspects Grimmer pulled from those social media threats. I thought if it’s the same method….it’d be the same guy, so if anything checked out...you know. I found...well I found something else instead….”

He tabbed over to Twitter, gesturing toward the account he was viewing. “I noticed a lot of threats using that hashtag game. #DeathTo is...I guess it’s growing in popularity, so I backtracked to see where the first use of the tag was and this is….look. Look.”

He was tapping his pen against the screen, indicating the avatar.

Even Lunge looked….mildly disturbed, narrowing his eyes.

“Bees.”

Suk nodded stiffly, then tabbed over again. It was Twitter again, but this time it looked like a video post.

“This is...I watched it already, it’s instructions. If you want to watch...it’s how to play the game.”

Lunge gave an affirmative nod, now hunched over Suk’s shoulder, Grimmer hanging a little further back. Suk, who would usually be somewhat antsy to have someone so closely watching over his shoulder seemed almost entirely rigid, like he didn’t notice Lunge was there, as he hit play on the clip.

It wasn’t _long_ \- only half a minute or so. It was a bizarre sort of animated textual video, with voice overlay - a robotic male voice listing off the instructions, which...seemed about as simple as any standard hashtag game might be.

Choose your target.

Find a picture of them.

Post their name and photo, using the hashtag #DeathTo.

There was nothing particularly odd or unusual about that, at least until the voice continued.

_At 5PM, votes will be tallied, and the individual with the highest votes will be killed._

_Game resets every day._

The sense of dread in the office was almost palpable, seeping into their bones with a deep chill. Ordinarily….Grimmer wouldn’t think much of it. A joke….twisted and not particularly funny, but...a joke. Now, though...with two deaths in as many days…

“And did you verify they were the highest-voted?”

Lunge’s voice was steady, but there was a sharp energy about him that almost seened wary. Suk nodded, pulling a second window up from the bottom corner of his screen. “Not...just that. I mean, yes, but I also found out….it looks like it’s growing. A lot. Look….”

He gestured to a little green graph, pointing to the highest value. “That’s Maurer. He had the highest votes on the first day, with 63. That’s not a lot in the long run, considering only around 700 people participated. But then Braun….”

The second graph was larger, fuller, the scale much higher. Suk’s already pale complexion seemed to be growing worse, even now. “Braun received 3051 votes out of 17,722. People were more varied yesterday. And if you think that’s a lot…”

Suk pulled up a third chart, with numbers even more staggering than the first two.

“These are today’s. We still have a few hours, but it’s already at 64,012. The….currently the highest ranked person is some….her name is Melse Knoetze? She’s the secretary of some psychologist, and I guess she made some sort of mocking comment about a man with disability while on live TV. Some morning news program. Of the total votes she has 24,133 and that’s….there’s still three hours.”

Both Grimmer and Lunge made a face. It was of course perfectly expected for social media to blow up over something like that, even a minor offence...something said in passing or in confidence quickly became the topic of public outcry. Though, to imagine it was worth killing her over...that was definitely...definitely far overboard.

"The public still doesn't know."

Lunge's voice was incredulous, but Grimmer found that at least comforting; if they fast-tracked releasing a statement regarding the game, then the damage could be curbed.

“Is there any chance she might be overtaken by another target of these attacks?”

Lunge remained stoic, though even he was definitely disturbed. Grimmer glanced over Suk’s shoulder, at the drastic dropoff from one number to the second. “It looks like the next runner-up is more than 14,000 votes behind. I have my doubts we’ll reach that many in the time remaining.”

Lunge straightened, adjusting his jacket with a slight tug. “Then I believe we’ll need to pay miss Knoetze a visit.”

* * *

Everything was almost ready. Lotte and Tenma had been working tirelessly - it wasn't quick work, when they had such an enormous project on their hands, but it was almost done.

It was difficult to explain, but Tenma felt...almost vulnerable, in a way. 

The ADIs weren’t supposed to be so easily hacked. They weren’t supposed to be breached at _all_. The entire point of using the resources provided by the government was to make sure nothing like that _would_ happen, to ensure a flawless transition to using autonomous drones as substitute pollinators. High-level defenses had been put in place for a reason - though, less to prevent the ADIs from being weaponized, and more...for the protection of the public.

In the end, the Ministry for the Environment didn't have the budget to sustain their project. Branching out, they had caught the attention of the Ministry of the Interior, offering more than ample funding and facilities, so long as they added a particular parameter to the ADIs; the Ministry of the Interior saw an opportunity - using the ADIs as surveillance drones as a secondary function.

Tenma had been complacent in the inclusion of imaging technology in the design of the ADIs; there wasn’t any _choice_ , they simply wouldn’t receive the funding necessary for the project, let alone government approval. Even if Tenma disagreed with it, his boss had at least managed to strike an agreement; the cameras would be inactive by default, and the government would have to submit a claim to the right to access the cameras.

But if someone could hack into the ADIs, they had everything that machine recorded at their disposal. That had been Tenma’s greatest concern; he never would have thought that someone would use one of his ADIs to… _kill_ someone.

They weren’t meant to be used as a tool of murder. It felt just a little sickening, knowing that someone had consciously thought to use what was meant to bring balance to a jeopardized ecosystem as such a cruel tool.

For now, he couldn’t let it get to him. He was hunched over his console, looking between the various screens. Lotte was with him, working at her own station, monitoring the ADIs while Tenma went about optimizing his little trap. If anything happened, if any ADI was hacked, the light on the map would shift to a bright red. He glanced toward his intern briefly, noting the severe way she was staring at her screen.

“How is the map looking, Lotte?”

She jolted, blinking a few times. 

“Yes, it...yes everything’s fine. Sorry, it’s just really tense.”

Tenma offered an apologetic smile, shaking his head. “I’m sure that’s my fault. I’m a little on edge. Don’t worry, the way things are going now, we should be able to tell…”

He heard the muted buzz of his phone and unlocked it, putting it to speaker for now so he could keep working.

_“I hope you’re a little calmer now. Is your trap in place?”_

“More or less. I’m just making sure I haven’t missed anything...how’s it going on your end?”

There was a pause, as though Grimmer was sorting through complex thoughts. There was a small anxious spike in Tenma; he tried to block out the voice telling him something had gone wrong.

_“Well, I already told you what we found from that unpleasant game you mentioned...myself and inspector Lunge are en route to a young lady who we believe will be the next target.”_

Tenma grimaced. “Melse Knoetze. Lotte’s been keeping me up to date.” He was particularly disturbed by just how many people were wishing such awful, violent hate at...well...a foolish teenager, really. He never had much liked the culture surrounding social media, for precisely this sort of reason. He sighed, brushing strands of hair out of his eyes as he finally hit execute, letting the program run.

“Well, at any rate, if something happens, I’ll see it. You said that it won’t happen until 5PM precisely, correct?”

_”That’s right. We have a little time yet. The Inspector and I will be safeguarding Ms. Knoetze’s house. And you will be watching the ADIs…?”_

Tenma hummed, sitting back in his chair to do just that.

“With a coffee or two, just in case.”

_”Oh! Wonderful. Though, I would have thought you’re anxious enough as it is…”_

Tenma chuckled, shaking his head. It was Grimmer’s way of saying to take care of himself while trying to diffuse the tension just a little. He was good at that, at helping.

“Well, in any case, if I see anything I’ll let you know. I should go for now, but call me back a few minutes before five, would you?”

_”Definitely. I’ll talk to you then, Kenzo.”_

There was a click, and then silence. Lotte and Tenma were left once again to silence and the odd hum and whir from the computers, or the ominous hiss and whisper from the hall, eerie ambience that, by now, both had grown accustomed to.

“So how come you and him don’t get married officially? I mean, it’s not like it’s a secret.”

Tenma quirked a brow, glancing briefly toward his...admittedly quite nosy and curious intern with a small smile. It was out of the blue, a bit bold to ask, but right now, it was a suitable distraction.

“That doesn’t really mean anything these days. A piece of paper won’t tell me how I feel about him. Think of it...”

Tenma paused for a moment, turning a little smirk her way. "Well, you and Nina. Down the line, that might come into question. What are your thoughts?"

There was a pause, Lotte tapping her chin. "Too much of a hassle and a huge expense without any real worthwhile payoff."

Tenma chuckled, shaking his head. "Very succinctly put."

Mild banter aside, the time ticked by in relative quiet. Five minutes to the hour, Grimmer called back, as promised. Tenma held the phone to his ear, using his shoulder to nestle it there, freeing his hands. He could feel his heart thudding, the anticipation of what was coming starting to kick in.

_“Everything’s clear so far on our end. Ms. Knoetze is in the next room, Lunge is with her for the moment. I’m keeping an eye out for any unwanted visitors.”_

Tenma swallowed, watching the clock slowly, agonizingly slowly, tick down. 

Three minutes, now.

“When...if, if someone hacks the ADIs, I should be able to give you a pretty exact location. They won’t be far from you, but keep an eye out for the rogue ADI. It won’t go after you, only the target. Have we confirmed Knoetze is the one?”

_”Indeed, by a bit of a landslide. It’s incredibly bad luck she made such a mistake when it seems someone’s out to kill the internet’s least favourite person of the day…”_

Tenma huffed, ignoring the crawling feeling in his gut, focusing instead on the map. There was only one minute until something...supposedly happened.

“It’s almost time.” Tenma whispered, taking a slow, deep breath and letting it out, trying to ease himself.

_”Indee---t---s--oct--.”_

Tenma narrowed his eyes. Of all times for service to fail…

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that? Could you repeat?”

_”Sou----s like----r--king up Ten----”_

Tenma...almost didn’t hear Grimmer at all that time.

He was too busy staring at the map, at the rapidly changing colours of not just a single ADI within a single hive, but _every_ hive, _everywhere_. It was all...it all…

_”--nma? Are y--ere?”_

He didn’t even react to the clatter of his phone dropping, or Lotte speaking up, nothing. He shook his head slowly, eyes wide, a sense of powerlessness chilling his core. His hands were flying across the keyboard, earning him little more than abrasive error messages and warnings.

There was nothing. He couldn’t...he was powerless. Helpless.

“They...they have...it all. God, they’ve got...”

A hand on his shoulder, suddenly shaking him, caught Tenma off guard. He jerked, turning to see Lotte there, her own face a mirror of his fear.

“You need to shut it down. Right now. Tenma, you have to shut it down! You can, right? We can do that?”

His mouth fell open, though he couldn’t think to speak. He just shook his head, prompting Lotte to squeeze his shoulder, trying to catch his attention, to get him to focus.

“We have to do something. I don’t know what to do right now, you have to...you have to do...I don’t know, _something_!”

Tenma shook his head, falling back in his chair. “No, you don’t….you don’t….we _can’t,_ they have...it all. Lotte. They have everything, the whole system. I’m locked out. I can’t _do_ anything. I'm....fuck, I'm....”

“Then at least tell them, they don’t know!”

Dazed, confused, afraid, it took Tenma a minute to recognize what it was Lotte meant. It was the crackle of the phone that alerted him, his stomach abruptly sinking down into the floor, weighed by a mixture of fear and horror.

Lunge and Grimmer.

He lurched for his phone, almost dropping it as he fumbled. There was no way he could relay the message across a broken channel. He sent it in a text instead, a message as succinctly put as he could manage;

_GET OUT NW_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I dropping you off with a cliffhanger? Oh yes.
> 
> At least I wrote the whole fic first so you’re not actually left waiting.


	4. DeathTo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lunge and Grimmer struggle to save the third potential victim of the #DeathTo hashtag game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Entomophobia warning for this chapter.

It looked a bit like something from a horror movie. And, perhaps that was aptly put; the broken voice of Tenma, something falling, a particularly ominous message telling him to get out….”nw”, probably a rushed message from Kenzo...so then, the situation was dire.

And, looking through the window from the ground floor, he could see why.

Grimmer had seen the ADIs before. Bumbling, slow little machines that...certainly didn’t _sound_ like bees, but they looked enough like them. And in a way, the detective almost found them to be somewhat cute.

Watching them approach like this, however, in a massive black, swirling cloud...they became rather ominous. And, it became somewhat evident that...their killer controlled not a single ADI, but a large portion of the hives, if not each and every one of them.

Grimmer was away from the window in a heartbeat, even as he heard the delicate _tink_ as they landed on the glass, one by one, looking for an entrance. The doors were all closed, the windows were closed, but to say the house was free of faults...he couldn’t be so sure of that.

The pattering of footsteps told him that Lunge, too, had noticed their swarm and had directed the girl away from the windows. Grimmer ushered her along, keeping an eye out as the clear glass turned black with the mass of ADIs crawling along the surface.

“The glass isn’t going to hold. We need to get you out of the open. Somewhere without windows.”

She stared at him, truly a deer in the headlights in that moment. Grimmer took her by the shoulders, lowering a little so he was closer to eye level.

“It’s scary, I know. But if we get you to someplace a little more secure, then you’ll be okay. We’ll make sure of that.”

She looked between Grimmer and Lunge, taking a slow, shaky breath and nodding, her eyes shifting toward the stairs. 

“Bathroom.”

Grimmer patted her shoulder, then started towards the stairs, clutching her hand as he made a swift ascent, taking steps two at a time, keeping close to the wall. He could hear Lunge behind him, more slowly, likely keeping an eye out f--

There was a crack from up above, followed by a second from somewhere else. Seconds later he could see the faintest movement of shadows, the swarm now inside the house. The rest of the swarm had a way in. They couldn't waste time.

“Go on, get in--”

Grimmer didn’t bother to finish his own sentence, halfway pushing the girl through the door and into the moderately sized room. He followed inside, Lunge close behind, closing and locking the door behind himself. It didn't take long before they could hear the dull thud as the drones struck the wood of the door, looking for a way inside. The chief inspector shouldered out of his jacket, throwing it down, blocking out the small opening at the bottom of the door. At first Grimmer hadn’t much thought about it, but that was definitely enough space for an ADI to slip through.

“Into the corner.”

There was no softness to Lunge’s voice, but Knoetze didn’t seem to care, more than happy to shove herself into the corner, sliding down the wall silently. Lunge and Grimmer were both looking now, trying to find any other imperfections, anywhere else the ADIs might be able to sneak through.

The air vent was next to go, Grimmer removing the grate and blocking off that space. The ADIs had stopped outside the door - he couldn't hear them any more, as though they were looking elsewhere for a way in, but as of yet...it seemed….they were safe.

Now, they waited in silence.

Grimmer’s eyes moved from the door up along the ceiling. There didn’t seem to be any cracks in the foundation...further along, there was a standard light fixture - one that seemed to have caught a fair few insects of its own. That meant...there was a way in through the ceiling, but it seemed they would be held at bay by the light fixture itself. Further along...

“Door.”

Grimmer blinked, jerking slightly when he saw Lunge’s arm fly out, his hand covering the lock. Even a space that small….

Both fell silent, looking and listening for any sign of the ADIs. Grimmer breathed through his nose, listening hard for movement, for anything. There were too many places the ADIs could come from; cracks in a wall, ventilation...any part of the room that connected to the rest of the house. He hadn’t _seen_ anything, not yet. 

Not, at least, until he saw one on the back of Lunge’s shirt.

Grimmer reached for it, trying to determine where it might have come from, where it could have escaped through. He saw a second, coming from the direction of the pantry. Sure enough, there were at least five more crawling on the opposite wall, coming from behind the mounted cabinet. There must have been a hole in the wall behind...possibly where a nail used to be…

Grimmer drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, watching as the ADIs on the far wall took to the air again.

“There’s a breach. They’re getting in. Ms. Knoetze, are you all right?”

The response he received was a rather sad whine, but it was a response nonetheless. 

“At this point we can only stop them once they’re inside. Keep your eyes open.”

As long as he could see them, knocking the ADIs out of the air wasn’t so difficult. The drones were small and relatively fragile; hitting them with any real force was plenty enough and...as drones started to drop, it seemed to be working. At least, at first. But a small handful of ADIs became a dozen, and then more; clearly there were more imperfections that Grimmer couldn’t see. Behind the mirror, coming from the ceiling fan, the light, another spot behind the cabinet. Lunge had given up on attempting to hold off the few trying to enter through the lock, making the choice to free up both hands, moving in front of Ms. Knoetze. There were too many to count, climbing the walls, the ceiling.

It really was an exercise in futility...

He never saw it, where the ADI came from, how it got past both detectives. He only heard the thud, along with shrill and painful crying that ripped at his heart. He turned in an instant, Lunge already crouched beside the girl, trying to hold her steady, to keep her from injuring herself as she spasmed. There wasn’t much Grimmer could do, wasn’t much _either_ could do. He crouched, he took her hand, wincing only slightly at her wicked grip. 

There really wasn’t anything they could do for her. She barely seemed aware of their presence, overcome with pain. He'd tried to speak, to say something, but his own words choked in his throat. They could do nothing but watch.

At least...it didn’t last long. 

Not even a minute, barely 45 seconds, though it felt like an eternity. 

She’d gone still then, still and silent and staring, and her painful grip eased.

The behaviour of the ADIs changed, becoming docile, returning to normal. Grimmer watched them, the black masses starting to disperse, bumbling around as usual. It was as though nothing had happened.

* * *

The somber tone of that scene hadn’t left, even as the body was taken away and the remaining ADIs filtered out. Neither detective said a word. Grimmer’s first dialogue had been brief, a quick call to Tenma. He had answered almost immediately, the voice on the other end frantic.

_"Grimmer? Is...what's happening over there? What's going on? I'm trying...I'm trying to get them back, I think...I think they're stabilizing now, I have control back, but it--"_

"Lunge and I are unharmed. We're....okay."

Rarely was he so... _brief,_ particularly with Kenzo. But as he was now...

_"Thank god, I'm...so you're both all right, and what about...what about Knoetze?"_

Ah.

Grimmer was silent for a moment, a hollowness filling the air, filling his gut. His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath.

"I'd like...to have this talk later, I think. Right now isn't a good time. We'll talk tonight."

It was Tenma's turn to be silent for a while, processing the words, the tone, both very uncharacteristically Grimmer. _".....All right."_

He'd hung up then with a quiet goodbye, though he did feel somewhat bad. It wasn’t Tenma’s fault, of course. Truthfully the concern was very touching, but, he’d rather have that talk face to face, later that evening.

“There wasn’t anything we could have done differently.”

Grimmer looked up, catching the senior detective’s gaze. Lunge looked more guarded than usual, clearly disturbed by the scene in his own way, silently, kept to himself. Grimmer exhaled, eyes going to one of the ADIs they had taken down in the mad scramble to save Melse Knoetze. It looked feeble now, small and harmless.

“You’re probably right.” he admitted, his voice lower, somber. “It’s just jarring. Watching.”

Lunge looked away, hands clasped neatly behind his back. “It’s certainly not the same. As a detective I’ve seen many bodies before. Witnessing death as it happens...engages human empathy.”

It was Lunge’s way of saying that even he grieved their failure.

Without looking up, the man continued. “Take the evening. I’ll finish here.”

Grimmer quirked a brow, glancing over his senior, trying to get a read on him. Asking Grimmer to leave when there was still work to be done tonight…

“Your partner ought to be worried. Go on, I’m giving you permission to leave early. Get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a rather intensive day. You’ll need the time to recover.”

Well, he wouldn’t refuse, certainly, but still, there was an irony in Inspector Lunge’s words, one he seemed unwilling to acknowledge himself. Grimmer peered down at him with a neutral sort of look.

“And what of you, then?”

It was barely visible, the slightest glimpse of a smile that only those who knew the man would recognize. Lunge’s smile was hardly something that could be seen, but rather felt in his presence; not quite so scathing, almost softer.

“Work is relaxing. The time between the end and beginning of a day are my most restless. I’m always thinking. This is rest for me.”

Well….Grimmer didn’t much doubt that to be true. He nodded slowly, muttering a quiet thanks before departing. Even now, he felt dread in his bones. Normally, going to see Kenzo warmed him; right now he only felt a deeper sort of sadness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was originally gonna make it Sausage Girl but I decided instead to utilize one of Monster’s other lovely ladies….sorry girl :(
> 
> Also I'm noticing this Lunge is sort of soft


	5. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenma and Grimmer face their failures together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate chapter title: Shameless Fluff

“Approximately when were you contacted after the death of Melse Knoetze?”

Tenma could feel his own anxious energy start to seep back. He knew what was coming next, what they would ask him, what he wasn’t ready to talk about. He stayed stiff, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“About…”

He tried again, clearing his throat and blinking a few times.

“Ten….fifteen minutes after. Closer to te...fifteen. I was trying to call before that, but nothing was going through. It was Grimmer who managed to call me to let me know what had happened.”

“And no attempt was made by you or your assistant to rendez-vous with the detectives when messages weren’t getting through?”

Tenma’s lower lip twitched, his arms briefly tensing as he chose a spot over the judge’s head and stared at it, directing the sudden angry swell there instead of toward her. He understood she was just doing her job, that she needed to piece together the scene according to each testimony. It wasn’t meant to be an accusation, but it still made him feel sick.

At the time, it was all he’d wanted to do. But he couldn’t, because he had a job to do. Tenma took a slow breath and shook his head.

“We were trying to reclaim the ADIs at the time, up until they reverted to normal behaviour. Though we were unsuccessful, leaving would have _guaranteed_ Johan had complete control. We were otherwise occupied.”

“And detective Grimmer...when you saw him later that evening, would you say he was out of sorts?”

He didn’t want to talk about Grimmer. He _especially_ didn’t want to talk about Grimmer.

“Please take your time. I understand it’s difficult for you.”

There was genuine sympathy in those words, and Tenma looked up, catching the woman’s eyes. It was hard to read her, she was stoic as a judge should be, but the smallest morsel of kindness had been enough of an offering.

“He was quieter than usual. Less responsive at first.”

“And would you say his behaviour remained much the same up until the incident?”

The line of questioning...this was about...the alleged suicide. If Grimmer might have had a deteriorating mental state leading up to then.

Tenma didn’t….know. It had been so long, and while those days were burned into his memory, the things that were said….moments during those days….weren’t as clear as they had been. Some moments seemed to have all but disappeared, erased from his mind - no doubt locked away by his own subconscious for the sake of his wellbeing. Still, it made this sort of thing difficult, when he couldn't even remember...when he couldn't call forth those memories, blurry as they were.

“I don’t know. He wasn’t as bright as usual, but I don’t know...I think that’s normal, everything considered. It’s...hard for me to say if it was consistent. I’m sorry.”

“No, that’s all right. We'll move on.”

* * *

Tenma met Grimmer outside when he saw the car pulling in, entirely neglectful that it was raining and equally forgetting proper shoes, a housecoat, or anything at all to guard him from the weather, really. Grimmer had told him he would be leaving early - Tenma made similar arrangements so he could make sure he was home by then. Grimmer had said he was fine...but all the same, seeing him turn in the drive shifted all of his senses to making sure the detective was okay, thus throwing common sense to the wind.

He stepped outside, then, wearing house shoes and a plain tee and sweatpants, hair quickly catching rain as he approached the driver side door. Grimmer stepped out, looking over Tenma with a mild frown that, a few moments later, melted into something a little more serene - still somber, but tinged with warmer tones.

“You’ve been especially worried, haven’t you.”

Tenma felt a hand come up to touch his face, moving hair away from his cheek. He glanced down and nodded sheepishly. Grimmer’s hand slipped down Tenma’s neck to rest lightly on his shoulder.

“We should really head inside, don’t you think? Better that you not catch cold.”

Tenma nodded, his senses slowly coming back to him, telling him that it was a bit too chilly to be out in a light tee and that he definitely should have had an umbrella or rain jacket and that house shoes definitely were meant to be worn indoors, not soaked in rain. At least it wasn’t coming down particularly hard, just a dreary drizzle. 

He led Grimmer inside, the taller man pulling the door closed behind him, shouldering out of his jacket and pushing off his shoes, setting them in the corner by Tenma’s. Straightening, he reached up and unbuttoned his collar, letting out a soft, relieved sigh. Only then did he turn his attention back to Tenma, who had busied himself with tugging fingers through his now somewhat matted, messy hair. He could see Grimmer looking at him in the mirror and turned, just in time to find himself held against the taller man’s chest, pulled in by gentle arms. 

It was pleasant, and warm, it was always warm, but even like this, he could feel the stiffness in Grimmer, the tense way he carried himself. There was nothing lacking in the affection he graced Tenma with - if anything it felt like a greater need, but he was definitely out of sorts, not himself.

Tenma couldn’t blame him. Not knowing what he’d been through.

He let the embrace last as long as Grimmer needed. Neither spoke, they just...stood there in the entrance, providing silent comfort, silent reassurance.

He felt Grimmer place a kiss to the top of his head and smiled, tilting his face up to meet the taller man’s. He brought a hand to his cheek, returning the kiss with one of his own, a gentle press of lips that lasted a few moments, before Tenma let his head lower, smiling softly against Grimmer.

“Welcome home. I’m glad you’re all right.”

Grimmer slowly disengaged himself from Tenma, once more looking him over with that mild concern, his expression peppered with fondness. 

“We’ll have dinner. There’s still stew, isn’t there? And I’ll make you something warm to drink.”

Tenma nodded, turning back toward the kitchen. Grimmer hadn’t changed out of his work clothes yet, but he was probably more hungry than anything else; it was already starting to get late, and Tenma had no idea when he’d taken lunch. 

It was surprisingly quiet over dinner. Plating up food, eating, even cleaning...there wasn’t much conversation at all. Normally there was something, a little dialogue, more often a little banter. He hadn’t expected that of course - but he’d hoped perhaps Grimmer might be ready to talk with him about what happened. He was still in the dark; the last he’d heard was the phone cutting in and out and then a brief call fifteen excruciating minutes later.

Eating in silence was something Tenma hadn’t done in a while. It was uncomfortable, the atmosphere heavy. Grimmer was trying to seem pleasant, but everything from that afternoon was weighing heavily on him. On both of them. The meal was warm, and so was the tea Grimmer poured for him, but Tenma still couldn’t help but feel a little chill settle around him. Even when they were cleaning up, and Grimmer was right beside him in the crammed little corner by the sink, it felt like he was miles away. He didn’t reach out, didn’t touch Grimmer or try to otherwise get his attention; he was introverting into himself for a reason, and Tenma would let him have the space he needed.

He needed some time to think himself.

The ADIs...a project that was supposed to help stabilize Germany's ecosystem in the absence of natural pollinators...had been stolen right from under his nose. Despite all the safety measures, everything that had been put in place, they were now at the disposal of some… _someone_ , who had turned them into lethal hunting drones.

He felt queasy knowing that the only reason it was possible was that he...brought them into existence in the first place.

The pair headed upstairs, turning out the lights in the kitchen on their way out, heading into their room to change for the night - Tenma out of his still slightly damp shirt and Grimmer into more comfortable sleepwear. Grimmer sat on one side of the bed as he unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way, Tenma sitting on the other side, facing the wall as he wriggled out of his own shirt and into a dry one. He rested his hands behind him and leaned back, closing his eyes and breathing slowly through the chill atmosphere. The comforter felt soft under his hands, and he resisted the urge to fall back and be entirely swallowed up in the blankets.

Just then, Tenma felt fingers brush against his hand and turned slowly, glancing back to see Grimmer, now not quite so constricted by the stiff shirt he’d been wearing, instead donning a light green tee similar to Tenma’s wet one. Blue eyes bore into his own darker hues, Tenma distinctly aware as Grimmer gently brushed the back of his hand with his index finger - a simple gesture, but somehow it drew all of his attention, his hand memorizing the tingle of the soothing motion.

“I don’t mean to be so distant. I’m sure you have your own burdens right now. It’s probably not helping, that I’m behaving this way.”

Tenma shook his head. “No, that’s…it’s all right. I understand why.”

The hand resting against his own shifted, wrapping around it in a proper hold. The feeling in the air was shifting a little, not as distant as before. Grimmer was still staring at him, with those deeply caring eyes.

“Tell me how you’re feeling.”

Grimmer looked warmer, more _there_ than before. Tenma gave his hand a squeeze, shifting over to Grimmer’s side of the bed, so he was sitting beside him comfortably. 

“Helpless, shocked. I couldn’t do anything to stop my own system from being hijacked. In the wrong hands, the ADIs could be used to spy on the general public. Or, as demonstrated, they can even be used to take a life. I just never would’ve thought anyone would use them like this.” He took a deep breath, releasing it in a shudder. Grimmer’s hand slipped from his, lifting to wrap around his shoulder and draw him in gently. He let himself be pulled against Grimmer’s side.

“I think I might be afraid. We’ve already seen what they can do. ADIs as a weapon...they’re autonomous, self-replicating...you have an infinite, miniature army. I’m terrified to know how many more are going to die. I’m afraid of what might happen to you and the other detectives if their controller gets tired of your interference. I feel...guilty, I was the one who--”

Tenma cut himself off when he felt contact against his cheek, Grimmer using his other hand to gently guide the engineer to look at him. He brushed Tenma’s cheek with his thumb, gentle and ticklish, sending a pleasant tingle down his spine.

“The ADIs weren’t designed to kill any more than a car, and yet vehicle-related deaths number higher than those of firearms. Even in the case of homicide, often enough a weapon is improvised, not a tool designed for murder. Even in Maurer's case.” Grimmer tried to smile, but even though it was genuinely warm, Tenma could still see the exhaustion there.

“You did a good thing with the ADIs. Because of your designs, plant life is able to thrive in the absence of real bees to pollinate them. What someone else did with them...that’s not your fault. You shouldn’t feel guilty.”

Tenma blinked slowly, nodding his head. It helped...at least a little. What Grimmer said made sense, but still, knowing what happened...he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty. He tilted his head, looking at Grimmer with a more severe expression now. He let a hand reach out to touch Grimmer’s arm, trailing slowly along the skin, down toward his hand.

“Right now I’m more worried about you. How you’re holding up.”

There was that guarded look, but it faded in a few moments. Grimmer….seemed receptive this time, like perhaps he was ready. He brushed his thumb over Tenma’s shoulder.

“I felt pretty helpless too. There was nothing we could do to save her.”

Once more Tenma felt himself being pulled against Grimmer, that sense of need present in the air. Grimmer’s hand was combing gently through his hair, rhythmic and soothing, though whether it was to soothe him or Grimmer himself was unclear.

“I promised her that we’d make sure she was safe. But in the end, I couldn’t keep it. She was just a girl, barely an adult herself. I’m sure she had incredible plans for her life.” 

Grimmer’s eyes closed, the weight suddenly shifting, Tenma now the one holding Grimmer up against him, Grimmer seemingly giving in to his exhaustion. His eyes blinked open once, slowly, expression falling, showing his more honest emotions. He reached blindly until he found Tenma's hand, then gave it a light squeeze. 

“You really can tell the exact moment someone passes. When they’re gone. I'd never seen it before.”

There wasn’t really anything he could _say_ to that, so he didn’t. Tenma took a deep breath, letting it out in a sigh as he shifted, pulling Grimmer against him. He gave Grimmer's hand a squeeze with his own, the other tracing his face with feathery touches. He leaned forward, kissing Grimmer’s forehead. The other man relaxed, finally starting to lose tension, though his grip on Tenma's hand was firm. He raised that hand slowly, so Tenma's fingers lightly brushed his face.

"I'm glad that you're here."

Tenma stroked the back of Grimmer's hand with his thumb. "I'm glad, too."

After a quietly tender moment, Tenma pulled away and lay down properly, guiding Grimmer to cozy up next to him as he pulled the blankets aside.

“Try to get some rest.”

He closed his eyes, feeling as Grimmer shifted under the blankets, lying next to him with one hand holding Tenma's, locking their hands in a firm hold.

“And you, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW this is a fairly sweet moment to give y’all a break between Bad and Worse. Appreciate the tenderness because it just goes downhill from here…
> 
> Low key I want to draw this scene though. It was one of the few that was incredibly vividly clear in my head before I wrote it


	6. Johan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Granular Technologies employees are investigated as possible suspects. Tenma recalls someone in particular.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter contains discussion of attempted suicide.

The news of the ADIs and the nature of the #DeathTo tag game had been made public knowledge. As expected, social media was blowing up over it, crying out against the notion of a public ballot held to vote for what was, effectively, an execution. Despite the backlash, though, it seemed that the number of individuals using the hashtag had nearly reached yesterday’s tally, and it was still early morning.

For the time being, Suk was in charge of monitoring social media - looking for anything out of the ordinary and keeping track of the highest ranked target - while Grimmer and Lunge investigated employees at Granular Technology. They didn't have a lot to go on yet, but the fact that their culprit was able to hack into "military grade" technology spoke volumes. There was almost no doubt they were dealing with an employee of the company.

Tenma had been temporarily relocated to their building - if anything crucial was discovered that could give the man an edge, it would be much faster to convey that information if he was in the office with them. They had hooked up Tenma’s computer to the screens on the far wall, projecting the map of ADI activity where everyone could keep an eye on it while he worked. Having a much larger projected screen worked to their advantage.

Lunge had just sent the third batch of Granular employees away, still no closer than before. He glanced to Grimmer with a scowl.

“Leave the rest to me. You talk to Tenma. See if you can pull _former_ employees. Individuals whose careers were terminated may hold a grudge.”

Grimmer gave a nod, circling around to his partner’s station. He paused, glancing at Suk as he passed. “Is there a definitive voting pattern…?”

Suk glanced back with a grimace - an answer to the question even before he'd spoken. “Yes.” he mumbled, his eyes moving toward the screen. “The...well, look.”

Grimmer peered over his shoulder, looking to the highest voted name. The Foreign Affairs Minister...yes, there had been quite a bit of unpleasant news surrounding her recently, a littany of accusations toward her or her staff...embezzlement and fraud, and several contradictory statements that seemed both insincere and racially charged. There were indeed reasons not to like the woman.

In a way that was upsetting...rather than cease using the tag at all, the public instead was now...using it to their advantage, eliminating an individual they saw to be the country's greatest problem. Grimmer pulled his chair toward Tenma’s desk, causing the man to look up from his work. He was analysing one of the ADIs retrieved from the crime scenes, seemingly trying to...well...Grimmer wasn’t entirely sure himself. 

“Would you be able to provide a list of individuals previously employed at the corporation, specifically those that worked on your project?”

Tenma narrowed his eyes. “Personnel files are restricted, only some employees are able to view them. But I think…” He made a face, somewhat sheepish as he started clacking away at the keys, “I should...be able to get in. I wouldn’t normally do this, but if it’s an emergency…”

“I most certainly would call it that, yes.”

Tenma got to work, Grimmer’s eyes shifting to the clock. It was just nearing quarter past ten….still plenty of time, but all the same, it felt like they were terribly rushed. Only a short while later did Lunge rejoin them, seemingly empty-handed. He didn’t say anything right away, choosing to watch Tenma work quietly.

There was a sound from the man as he seemingly...paused in the midst of what he was doing, staring at something in confusion. Grimmer stepped forward, peering over Tenma’s shoulder. It looked like he was reviewing a personnel file, possibly one that could prove useful…?

“You’ve found something.”

Lunge’s voice was sharper, but Tenma didn’t seem dissuaded by it. He simply nodded, glancing back over his shoulder.

“This boy...he worked under me directly. Actually Lotte is the one who took his position after an extended vacancy. Johan Liebert…” His eyes shifted to Grimmer. “Do you remember two years ago...I told you, that boy...he was an unusual case.”

It was a young blonde man, who - in the picture - looked to be in his early twenties. His age listed him as only 21. Indeed, Grimmer remembered him well enough; Tenma had called him something of a genius, but after a bizarre family issue, he'd all but disappeared.

“If you would please enlighten the rest of us.”

Tenma’s gaze flicked to the senior detective and then to Suk, who had his head tilted just slightly from his desk, clearly listening.

“Johan Liebert was….the most intelligent junior systems analyst I’d seen. Even now….Lotte’s excellent, but Johan….he was only a third year college student and he could perform circles around some of the seasoned employees of Granular. I started tasking him with increasingly significant aspects of the program. I had him working closely with the software engineers, but he still reported directly to me. He was very charming, very personable, but a little distant. It was hard to explain, he seemed to know everyone, but no one really knew much about him.”

Tenma's expression soured, his gaze falling.

“He called me one day to say he wouldn't be able to come in...which was irregular, he never missed a day. He was unusually closed off about it, wouldn't give me much explanation, but I found out later that his sister...” He looked up, heaving out a slow sigh. "I never knew the circumstances, not in full, but she'd tried to kill herself. Johan wouldn't talk about it, he probably didn't feel it was appropriate to discuss with his supervisor. I visited his sister in the hospital though. Apparently it was online harassment, she couldn't check her phone without being bombarded with it. She didn't tell me much, but I can imagine how vicious it must have been. I've seen what people say on social media. They can be cruel."

Grimmer could certainly attest to that, having seen first hand the sorts of horrible messages that had been targeted at each of the victims thus far.

“Johan went back to school for his final year after that, and for the longest time I hadn't heard anything from him. His sister recovered fine in that time, and went on to finish her own schooling. Though, after Johan graduated, he...”

Tenma trailed off, narrowing his eyes. "Well, he did send me a letter. Paper - I know, a bit odd these days, but he seemed to like writing things down - and he thanked me for being...a good mentor, for making him feel welcome. It was a kind gesture, but something about it...I don't have it with me, I don't remember what exactly he said, but what stuck out as odd to me..." Tenma hunched forward, brows knitting together. "He said something about...how he'd never felt like he fit in at Granular, how everyone else felt like mindless drones, that I was the only one who seemed to care...only I had compassion. Thinking about it now..."

Grimmer didn't recall the letter, though it was possible Kenzo hadn't showed him. But now, things were starting to fall into place. That this Johan Liebert had witnessed that sort of vicious harassment over social media, the fact that he was something of a master in the field…even the letter, that language, drones he said...

“And would you happen to know where he was living at the time.”

Tenma frowned, glancing back at his computer. “It isn’t where he was living _then_ that we need to find. But…” He pressed his lips together. “My...well my intern, I met her _through_ Nina. They're quite close. There's a possibility we could locate him through his sister, if...she's willing. And if not, then I could...probably use the ADI you retrieved to sort of...hijack other ADIs. So it sees what they see.”

“You mean to hack their facial recognition tracking.”

Tenma nodded, somewhat sheepishly. “Sort of. I should be able to...reverse the feed. We may not find where he is now, but we'll be able to find the area he's staying, at least. We can ask around if anyone's seen him. Now...he _will_ be able to tell if we've hijacked an ADI's camera, so I'd advise we start with the sister. She's the best bet to find him.”

"Let's do it, then. Tenma, do what you need to prepare the ADI in case it's needed. And hurry."

* * *

It took longer than Grimmer would have liked to locate Johan's home. Several hours of time....several thousand more votes in that troubling game...but, the fact that they were able to in the first place was a relief. Ah, though not to his sister, apparently; Nina had understood that her brother was following a promising career opportunity, had even encouraged him to take his leave. He'd seemed reluctant not to be near her, but her encouragement had been enough to motivate him. From there, it had been a bit of an adventure...plenty of faces had recognized him, indeed, but it seemed he hadn't stayed in one place for very long. They did, though, finally reach what seemed to be his current residence, if one of his neighbours was to be believed.

It seemed he was living alone, in a neighborhood that was altogether quite familiar with a blonde man named “Michael”. There was no mistaking it was Johan; no doubt it was part of his plan to take over the ADIs, adopting a new identity and severing ties with old faces.

Entering his apartment revealed, at first, very little. It was empty, and altogether somewhat bare; if he lived here, he certainly showed very little evidence of it. Grimmer couldn’t see much of note….it looked quite clean, as though he kept it spotless at all times. Even Lunge seemed to be struggling to find anything. And yet, a woman two houses down had insisted that Michael had stopped by for tea that morning.

“He definitely _was_ here. But I imagine it’s as Tenma said. He probably caught onto what we were doing and left. It’s doubtful we’ll find anything.”

Grimmer hummed, heading toward the stairs. “I’ll check up here. You see if you can find anything on the ground level. It’s possible he tried to hide or dispose of any evidence. The trash or sink maybe.”

He only half-heard the acknowledgement from Lunge before he headed upstairs. At least the place he was renting wasn’t particularly large - the main floor had only the kitchen and dining area and a washroom by the front door, and upstairs there were only...his bedroom, bathroom and what looked like a spare room, possibly an office. He started in the bedroom - private, certainly a place one might keep sensitive information. His bedside table had little more than a diary in it, and there didn’t seem to be any sort of hidden compartment to the drawers. 

He did take a quick peek through the diary - in case there was anything of note there. It seemed fairly standard, an ordinary routine, mentions of names he didn’t know. And, it was rather impeccable handwriting! Ah....though definitely, some of the writings...there was a theme, from what little he read. About "human apathy" and "thoughtless followers"...the drone likeness was quite close to heart it seemed. The more of what he saw, the more certain he was. Odd, though, that it was all on paper. These days that was rare, hand-held devices like tablets were more common.

The trashbin in his room was standard fare; discarded food wrappers, crumpled paper, not much of note. He moved from the man’s bedroom to the office, a particular… _feeling_ driving him that way. It was difficult to explain, but he had a certain hunch.

The bookshelf.

It certainly held _interesting_ titles, older books, as though he’d collected the entire library of an English literature course’s required readings. He was definitely well-read, to be sure. There was one particular book, though, that struck him a bit as odd.

It stood out from the others in that it was marked, edges of the binding frayed. The books otherwise seemed quite well cared for, but this one…

As he picked it from the shelf and flipped it open, he didn’t _immediately_ notice anything strange...not until he started flipping the pages, and very nearly dropped what was so snugly held between the pages on the ground. He levelled out the book, holding it open and pulling what….looked like a disk drive from between the pages. Whatever was on it, he’d definitely had to hide hastily.

Grimmer came back downstairs, book held carefully under his arm.

“I think I’ve found what we’re looking for.”

Lunge met him by the stairs, eyeing the book, though he didn’t voice his questions. Grimmer answered anyway with a small smile.

“I discovered a data disk wedged between two pages. Something that he was definitely trying to hide.”

Lunge quirked a brow, nodding. “Well done. We’ll take it back for analysis, then.”

* * *

There was...a bit of trouble, on returning to headquarters. Grimmer only noticed once they had made it back to the office and he’d inserted the disk into his machine, only to be greeted with a somewhat upsetting message. He frowned, leaning back in his seat.

“He took secondary precautions, it seems. It's encrypted.”

“So then that means it’s useless, right?”

Suk’s voice was frantic, but Grimmer couldn’t blame him. They were on a bit of a time crunch….but, it wasn’t hopeless, not yet.

“I’ve had to handle files like this before. It's tricky...” He offered Suk a small smile. “but I’ll work quickly, given our timeframe.”

Tenma nodded beside him. "I’ll see what else I can find out on my end, if there isn’t a way for me to determine how it is Johan hacked them…”

Lunge seemed pleased, stepping away for a moment. “While you’re busy analysing data I have some phone calls to make. Important people tend to be rather eager to act rashly far too quickly when threatened. Particularly those that hold the nation in the balance.”

There wasn’t much more dialogue after that, everyone quick to jump to task.

Well, everyone except Suk.

As he all but watched, everyone else was doing something...useful.

Suk looked at the clock, grimacing. It was 25 minutes after three, which meant they still...had a while, but he still felt incredibly rushed. They weren’t going to make it at this rate. Grimmer was doing his best to recover the data Johan had tried to hide while Tenma dissected the programming of the ADIs to see how it was Johan managed to hijack the entire system, and Lunge was making arrangements with the BKA to ensure no rash action was taken...but Suk was just….sitting there.

They hadn’t asked him to help with anything, but that shouldn’t matter. As a detective it was his job to be proactive, to help where he saw that he could without direction or guidance. And right now….there was a possibility. Something he could do.

Maybe he could talk to Johan.

It wasn’t like trying would hurt them - they only had a little while left, and there was no way Johan could do anything drastic in that time. Suk pressed his lips together, giving Lunge a quick sideways glance. He was definitely too distracted right now to notice anything. Suk pulled up his Twitter, entering the #DeathTo tag, along with the name Johan Liebert. He made a cutout of Johan’s face from the personnel file that was shared with them, dropping it in the post. 

He hesitated before hitting send, narrowing his eyes. He was probably the only person who was going to nominate Johan. It wasn’t like he would die. But if he saw the notification he might get curious. Maybe he could open some sort of dialogue and find a way to get to Johan and stop him before he sent out the ADIs again.

It might provoke him, but at this rate, if they failed, they’d lost once again to Johan, this time on the government level. They had bigger problems to face at that point.

Closing his eyes, Suk hit the enter key, choosing not to watch his message post. Opening his eyes once more, he saw it appear on the live feed he had tracking the tag, too.

There was nothing, though. No response.

Not after a few minutes, nothing. So it was probably useless then.

Suk sighed, closing his eyes. At this rate all he could do was wait, but that was just making him more antsy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jan Suk Is A Fool


	7. Symphony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team makes their move to prevent Johan's plot from going any further.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the grimmest chapter of the fic and contains major character death and also major death of characters. Prepare yourself

By the time Grimmer managed to unlock the data disk, there was just shy of an hour left. 

“Well, I’ve gotten all I can now. And there’s…” He drilled down into the file directory, narrowing his eyes. “I’m not quite sure what to make of it, but the structure looks familiar, I think…” He copied the information onto a data key, ejected it, and tossed it Tenma’s way. He caught it surprisingly gracefully, porting it to his computer to analyse. 

His face went from neutral uncertainty to...shock, then to understanding. So, then, he definitely knew.

“This is a copy of the ADI security algorithm. But there are pieces missing, with new functions in place...it looks like…” He narrowed his eyes, frowning. “It’s some kind of malicious programming, it targets a specific system and overloads it with data and causes it to fail...effectively the security measures we’d put into place were useless, because with this programming...there _is_ no security. It’s busy...attacking _itself_.”

“But how did it get into the entire system?”

Tenma glanced at the lone ADI, the one he’d been analysing.

“It’s been over a year since he dropped contact. The ADIs have been around just as long, starting last summer. I think….he took his time. He infected just one at a time, like we initially thought. There was no reason to suspect anything, and on the surface the structure of the code looks the same….he was very careful to hide what he did. Even if we were to run a maintenance check on the ADIs this wouldn’t have been picked up. He could have taken the hives one at a time. And because the ADIs are self-replicating, they would have recreated new hives with his malicious programming...Johan already had the ADIs long before now. I think...he only just completed it this year.”

Grimmer was able to follow it...relatively well, of the detectives he was better versed in Tenma’s high-level babble. But what he was hearing wasn’t anything along the lines of ‘this is how it’s fixed’. 

“Can you reverse it?”

Tenma took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Yes. This is….it’s all using the same names and organization as the algorithms that were originally written into the ADIs, right? So all I have to do is copy the original code and replace his, then give the ADIs a hard restart. It’ll mean everything going offline for a few seconds, but after that the new programming will take root, and that should….solve our problems.”

Grimmer nodded, glancing up to the clock. Just over a half hour left, now. Tenma got to work, Grimmer taking that time to look over the _other_ file he’d found on Johan’s data disk. It looked like some sort of manifest, a list of names. Thousands, by the look of it. Names, photos, social media handles, a string of numbers and a timestamp.

The numbers were….perplexing at first, but as he looked them over, he noticed a particular pattern. He'd seen them before, in other cases. They were effectively unique identifiers for...phones, tablets, computers, things like that. But exactly what the purpose was, he couldn’t be sure. 

“There’s some sort of list, tracking individuals and the machines they use, I think. Though exactly why...I don't know.”

Close to the top, with the most recent timestamp, he could see one particular name, a _familiar_ name. Grimmer glanced over his shoulder, gesturing toward Suk.

“It’s strange, your name is on it.”

He did a quick search, looking for his own handle and Tenma’s. There didn’t seem to be any hits, and he didn’t know if Lunge even had any social media accounts, let alone what they were. “You’re the only one. I can’t quite say what it’s for…” 

Suk was hovering over his shoulder now, looking at the names, at his own name, his eyes shifting right, toward the timestamp. Though Grimmer couldn’t see it, he could feel a sudden shift in Suk, like dread. He glanced back again, noting the pale complexion his junior had taken on.

“Is something the matter…?”

Suk’s gaze shot away from Grimmer, like he was sheepish, nervous. He swallowed thickly, shaking his head. “No. It’s nothing, I don’t…”

“If you know something, then speak.”

The stern voice of Lunge froze Suk to the spot, and eventually, he relented, shoulders sagging.

“When you were trying to restore the disk he left, I thought I’d try to engage Johan. So I used the tag, with his name. To see if it’d make him say anything. He didn’t. And that’s...the time I sent it.”

The look he got from Lunge was severe, but muted. There were more important things to deal with than Suk’s poor choices right now. 

“Is there a way you can count the lines, to see how many names appear?”

Grimmer squinted, leaning back and rubbing the back of his neck. “It might take a while to count them all. Even without an accurate number I can tell you there’s thousands of lines. Many, many thousands. Look at the size of the file…”

He scrolled down a little, eyeing the absolutely miniscule scrollbar. There were so many names, and only more were being added.

“Then let’s make an educated guess. Consider where we found this file. Most likely this is meant to track everyone who has used the tag #DeathTo. The question becomes why.”

Grimmer frowned. “He’s collecting names, identifiers and social media accounts...it could be a bizarre attempt to collect private information. But there are easier ways. It seems odd.”

Lunge nodded. “Something doesn’t add up. The entire game seems bizarre, coming from Johan Liebert. Knowing the facts that we do now, that Liebert…” Lunge looked out into the distance, drumming his fingers on the desk beside him. “His sister was viciously harassed on social media, to such an extreme extent that she attempted suicide. And yet, the brother's game seems to operate on the same logic. One might assume revenge is the motive, but if that were the case, why only one at a time?”

It really _didn’t_ make a lot of sense. Something wasn’t quite right about it all.

“I’m done. It’s ready. Everything’s been replaced. The ADIs just need to be reset.”

Tenma’s voice startled Grimmer. He jerked, looking up first to Tenma, then to the time, and his stomach sank into the floor.

Two minutes. There were only two minutes left. They had to make a call.

“And you’re absolutely certain that resetting the ADIs will return them to your control. There isn’t some trap Johan might have set.”

Tenma hesitated, looking between the clock and Lunge, hand hovering over the enter key. He faltered.

“I don’t….know. I don’t know.”

Lunge hummed, stepping forward. “Let’s take a moment to think. Do we want to risk the chance Johan may have an even worse endgame planned?”

“Do we want to risk _another victim dying?_ ”

Suk’s voice cracked, eyes glued on the clock. There was only one minute left. If they didn’t do anything now, the Minister _was_ going to die.

“If we make a mistake, we don’t know what might happen.”

Suk balled a fist, fighting to stay calm and quite frankly failing. “But if we do _nothing_ we’re willingly standing aside and letting someone die."

There was a heaviness in the air, and something near rage from young Suk. Lunge narrowed his eyes, looking the younger man over cautiously.

"Think. This doesn't make sense. If we press that button, there's no going back. We need to be _sure_. If-"

"That’s not what we’re supposed to do. We’re cops, we _save_ lives. I’d rather bet on an unknown than just choose to let someone be killed. _Listen_ to yourselves.”

"Jan--"

He shouldered past Lunge, leaning across Tenma to press the button, earning a shocked, half-choked protest from both Tenma and Grimmer, the latter of whom tried to pull Suk backward before he could make that decision for them, but it was too late. As he watched, all the lights on the overhead map fizzled out - as Tenma said they would, resetting the ADIs.

Suk stepped back, very aware of the incredibly tense atmosphere around him, his own anxious energy joining theirs in a sickening cloud. He knew he’d done the right thing...letting someone die because they _didn’t know what might happen_ was worse. He’d never be able to sleep at night knowing he’d let someone die.

Still, he was trembling a little when all the lights had gone out. Lunge was just standing stiffly, while Grimmer was hovering by Tenma, a hand on his shoulder.

Slowly, the lights started coming back on, the ADIs restoring themselves. Tenma took a deep breath and let it out slowly, bowing his head against his keyboard. 

The signals showing onscreen were blue. They were safe.

_”Fuck.”_

It was whispered softly under his breath, but Grimmer still heard it. He clapped the man’s shoulder, shaking his head.

“There, now. That was a bit too exciting, I think. No more of that for a while.”

There was an awkward, giddy sound behind them, Suk making a noise somewhere between laughing and crying as he stumbled backward into his desk and just stood there, watching as the ADIs normalized. Even Lunge had relaxed...as much as he possibly could.

“Perhaps I owe you an apology, doctor Tenma. I underestimated your capabilities.”

Tenma glanced up, scratching behind his ear. “You don’t….you know, you don't have to...it’s just Tenma. Calling me Doctor right now...I don't know, it feels pretentious.”

“Humble, aren’t you? I would think you deserve it now. You just saved a life, and I’m sure plenty of other future victims.”

Tenma didn’t answer, his gaze focused on the map projected on the far wall. Grimmer tried again, gently tapping his shoulder to get his attention, but he didn’t budge. In fact his face had gone entirely pale. His mouth hung open, silent at first, before, quietly--

_”....No.”_

Grimmer followed his partner’s gaze, and felt a cold chill down his spine.

Each of the lights was blinking, turning from blue to red, covering the entire map of Germany in a wash of crimson light.

It felt like it was happening in slow motion, really. The only part of the world that existed right then was that office, and the map.

He heard the faint _ting_ of something striking glass, the light filtering in slowly growing dimmer. Looking up, the first thing Grimmer saw was Suk, standing stiffly still, staring at the window. And sure enough, covering the glass was a writhing mass of insectoid drones. Tenma was frantically banging away at the keys, but whatever he was doing...it had no effect.

Both Lunge and Grimmer...had seen this before. They knew what was coming, the futility in trying to stop it. But to leave Suk…

It was Lunge who moved first, guiding Suk by the arm - firmly, but not entirely roughly - toward the door. The younger man stumbled, prompting Lunge to give his arm a rougher jerk, narrowing his eyes at the junior detective.

“You need to find cover. A sealed space. Get moving.”

Suk just shook his head, eyes fixed on the window.

“Just….” He shuddered out a breath, head drooping. “....go.”

Lunge took to half-dragging the junior detective down the hall, dead weight that he’d made himself out to be. He was muttering under his breath - _my fault, deserve it anyway_. But all the same, Lunge refused to leave the detective behind.

Fool though he was, what he deserved was reprimand, not death. More than that, as his senior officer, Lunge was responsible for Suk's wellbeing. He refused to believe it was completely futile to save him. He would try. Suk, letting himself be dragged along, seemingly lacking any energy of his own, was muttering quietly under his breath, barely audible over the tremble in his voice.

"I don't want...I don't want you to...to...see."

The words were terribly small, difficult even for Lunge to listen to. He hoisted the boy to his feet again, throwing his arm across his own shoulders so he bore both of their weight now.

"And I don't want you to die alone."

That seemed to shut him up, Suk trembling. He could hear the glass shatter, the yelling from down the hall.

_"I'm sorry."_

Lunge just kept walking. It was the only thing he could do.

"I know."

* * *

The streets of Germany were filled with screams, a terrible symphony of fear and horror, its skies billowing with ominous black clouds that sought the next on their endless list of targets.

They didn’t know how long it lasted. It felt like days. It was less than one. It probably all happened over the course of several hours.

Tenma hadn’t rested, had tried over and over desperately to shut down the ADIs to no success. Even through the window, shattered under the weight of the ADI swarm that had claimed the young detective, he could hear the howling cacophony, like a disturbed wind. His entire body was shaking as he just….stood there, staring.

He didn't say anything, just stood. Just stared. Grimmer stepped forward, opening his mouth to speak, but then--

“There were _thousands of people_ on th….and I couldn’t...I c....”

Kenzo tried to turn, to look at Grimmer, and stumbled sideways, nearly falling before Grimmer moved to catch him, supporting his weight with a little difficulty as Tenma really wasn’t even trying to support himself at the moment, leaving Grimmer to catch himself. Eventually the taller man managed to get the two of them completely upright, holding Tenma tightly against his chest.

“You didn’t do this. You couldn’t have known. There was no time. It wasn't you." He shuddered out a breath, lowering his head against Tenma's, arms winding a little tighter. "You didn't kill them.”

He pulled fingers through Tenma’s hair. At first he was limp in Grimmer's arms, just staring at nothing, trembling. Slowly, though, he seemed to come back to his senses, returning the embrace to a near crushing hold. There was a terribly painful sound, a muffled half-scream against Grimmer that became quiet sobs. Grimmer squinted his eyes tightly shut, nestling his face lightly in Kenzo's hair. Even he could feel the faintest prickle of tears in his eyes, though they didn’t fall - sorrow in sympathy for Tenma, at hearing the pitiable cries carried by the wind, at the loss of Suk.

It was over, the endgame had been reached, but the cost….

There had been far too great a cost.

Tenma was certainly blaming himself, now, but Grimmer...well, he’d been the one to restore Johan’s files, who effectively unlocked the door that allowed Tenma to reprogram the ADIs in the first place. If there was to be blame, it was shared.

Grimmer took a deep breath, letting it out in a slow, quiet shudder, allowing both himself and Tenma to slump down to the ground in a huddled heap. He could think of plenty to say - 

_I’m sorry. I’m here. Please don’t blame yourself._

But right now...it felt more appropriate to remain silent. So, he did. He didn’t speak, he only held Tenma, offering what comfort he could, taking what comfort he could in the other man.

Germany had entered a dark hour, and they were at its center.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kill Suk too much :(
> 
> But hooh this is what I mean by saying this is a serious downer fic….considering I more or less followed the episode it’s based on, you can thank black mirror for that <3
> 
> Poor, poor Tenma


	8. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tenma faces the bleak future ahead of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of discussion of suicide in this chapter.

“Now, no one needs reminding of the tragedy that occurred. Germany suffered a terrible loss that day, one that it’s still recovering from.”

Tenma only gave a stiff nod. He felt eyes on him, perhaps real or phantom gazes that he imagined were there, scrutinizing him, blaming him. He could understand them. He still blamed himself in some capacity. No matter how much he'd been told not to - even knowing that he hadn't been the one to cause those deaths - the irrational part of his brain continued that self-blame. Only now, there was no one to contradict it.

“The court would like to recognize you, Tenma, for your efforts to prevent the catastrophe from occurring.”

He didn’t respond with anything more than a tired gaze. He didn’t need or want the reassurance.

“To be clear...how soon after the event did Wolfgang Grimmer disappear?”

So, they’d finally reached it. The question - or questions - Tenma most dreaded to answer. There was no comfort that could be given now. Of all his memories, what came so shortly after the catastrophe was the murkiest. There were feelings...emotions, somewhere buried that he wanted to reach. It felt as though he knew something more than what his mind presented - nothing that he could grasp at the moment, but perhaps with time, he could recall.

“It was four days after the final death toll was released, so almost a month later. I tried contacting Lunge and other members of the force, no one had heard from him.”

“And it was two months later that his bag was discovered on a beach, with a note. Would you verify that for me?”

Tenma felt his stomach squirm. As long as they didn’t ask him to read it.

“Yes. It was brought to me by chief inspector Lunge.”

“His theory is suicide - that his personal guilt was too much to bear. Would you say the same?”

 _Absolutely not._

Tenma took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“It’s the prevailing theory, but at the moment, I’m not ready to rule out the possibility that he’s alive.”

There was silence then, a silence that seemed strangely agonizing. Finally, though, there was a contented nod.

“I’d like to thank you for your cooperation. It’s not an easy story to relive. Thank you for your time.”

* * *

He was glad...glad the hearing was over. But those final questions...his own thoughts... 

There was a phrase, one that Tenma never used to think much about. It had been a joke in the office once, early on - _does your detective keep you warm at night?_ \- to which, he'd simply laughed and brushed it off. It had felt a bit like he'd walked into some bizarre, archaic movie set when he heard it, though he was pretty sure that was the point. He’d never quite understood the fascination with that particular phrase. There were easier ways to ask if he and Grimmer were sleeping together - not that he was any more inclined to share.

He thought about it now, though. Now that he was gone. It was distracting, impossible _not_ to think about.

At night, he found he was cold. Cold and lonely.

It wasn’t as though he couldn't sleep alone; plenty of times that was exactly what happened, even late into their relationship. Working overtime and the like often meant one or the other was by himself for a while. What struck him now, though, what made him feel utterly _sick_ some nights, was the thought that Grimmer wasn’t coming back.

Well...that wasn’t true, not completely. There was no absolute guarantee that he was gone. But the tone in Detective Lunge’s voice, when he had come to their home carrying a duffel bag that was so, so impossible _not_ to recognize….the note, the apologetic tone the stoic detective had managed, despite his usual disposition…

Tenma had read it over multiple times. It was Grimmer’s handwriting, he’d recognize it anywhere. It was the way he wrote, his tone, he could hear his voice in every word.

_To all;_

_This is difficult, I imagine more so for you to read than for me to write, yet I find myself struggling all the same. I wonder at the events of the past few months. I cannot stop such thoughts as what I may have done differently, how differently it might have been. But the truth is rather grim; I’m a haunted man, I see and hear them every night and know I was the cause. Perhaps not in totality, I understand that in such a complex scheme there are many parts to be played. It’s unfortunate that I played mine as well as I did, albeit unknowingly._

_Ignorant though I was, I don’t believe I could be absolved of the crime I committed. My actions led directly to the deaths of hundreds of thousands. There is no fresh start for me._

_I am not certain if this is an apology or a confession; perhaps both. There are individuals I personally have apologised to, and whom I now apologise to again. I do not know what more can be said than what has; I only hope it's clear to you all how truly genuine I am when I say I wish I could change what was done. But, the past is the past I suppose._

It certainly had a final tone about it. There was no denying that. Lunge hadn’t said it outright, but the delicacy with which he had handled the moment was chillingly telling. It was a few days later, in an official statement, that the chief inspector postulated the possibility that Grimmer was dead. He had listed many of the same factors that led to such a grim conclusion - some of which Tenma himself might agree with, if not for the man being spoken of.

Grimmer wouldn’t kill himself. He wasn’t like that. Even in this sort of situation…

“Are you sure you’re all right? Maybe you should sit down.”

Rudi’s voice was calming and quieted Tenma’s swirling thoughts. His head jerked up, a sheepishness about him as he shuffled towards one of the comfortable armchairs as directed by his friend. Rudi handed him a warm cup of tea, and Tenma muttered a soft thanks. Rudi sat in the next chair over, looking at Tenma somewhat concerned. 

“I can understand your feelings. You two have been together for years. Losing him is like losing a piece of yourself, right?” Rudi’s voice was softly sympathetic. “This isn’t easy to accept.”

Right now, Rudi was one of the few people Tenma kept contact with. He'd been the one to review the letter per Tenma's request, and served as a sort of confidante these days. He'd been the one to whisk Tenma away from the hearing discreetly, so he wouldn't have to face the crowd outside. Even now, he was worrying over his friend. Tenma let himself slump forward, the tea held in his hands, resting between his knees as he stared at nothing in particular. 

“It’s just not like him. He’s not that sort of person. He wouldn’t.”

Rudi’s face fell, and he looked at his own drink, bringing it to his lips almost reluctantly. 

“Under normal circumstances, I’m sure you’re right. I never knew him like you did, so I couldn’t say...but a tragedy of this scale has a dramatic effect on a person. Even if you’re his partner, I imagine he might have kept that from you. He wouldn’t have wanted you to worry.”

Tenma’s hand clenched harder around the cup and he shook his head. “I know. But that’s…” 

He felt a lump growing in his throat. What he wanted to say…..what was it he was trying to say? He knew that people were drastically affected by what happened. He was one of them. He and Grimmer had both...everyone on that case was affected in some way. But that didn’t explain anything. He stared at his reflection in the cooling tea.

“Grimmer is the type of person that puts the wellbeing of others ahead of himself. The people he cares about, I mean. This entire time..he’s been taking care of me. And even in the past...there was a case, I guess….six months after we started living together...he was injured. He tried to shrug it off around me, because he didn’t want me to worry. But when I told him that only made me worry more….he stopped. He let me see when he was in pain. That’s...the way we’ve always been. If something happens….we help each other heal. He wouldn’t….he knows, after what happened he _knows_ how vulnerable I would feel. He’d _never_ kill himself, because he knows what that would do to _me._ I can’t...possibly believe that he would.”

There was an absolutely painful silence that followed, the lack of any real sound slowly suffocating both Tenma and Rudi, though neither made a move to fill it. Rudi had no idea what to say, and Tenma dared not continue to speak or risk his fragility seeping into his voice. Finally, though, Rudi spoke up, his voice somehow softer than before.

“It’s very possible that when he first left, he had no intention of killing himself. It’s possible he had those feelings ever since the case closed, but he didn’t want you to see that. He probably wanted to take time alone to battle those feelings himself, but in the end….you were probably just what he needed. He couldn’t conquer those feelings because he wasn’t with you.”

Tenma took a moment to process those words. It was true that both had become gloomy, terribly so, after the wake of those hundreds of thousands of deaths. It was possible that Grimmer had felt that way. He didn't...he didn't know, the finer details were so hard to recall. It had only been days after the final count was released - almost a month after the incident - that Grimmer first disappeared. But that alone was telling. He chose to leave instead of stay with Tenma….he left, because…

The faintest sound of a _splish_ caught his attention, a sound that seemed strangely nearby.

It took him a minute to register that he was crying, silent tears sliding down his face and dripping into his tea or on the carpeted floor below. 

There was another sound, like rustling, and then something warm squeezing his shoulder, and Tenma felt those well-crafted barriers, the attempt to appear _stable_ , crumble and crack under the gentleness of Rudi’s touch.

“It’s all right.”

The voice somehow stung, almost painful in his ears, so seemingly full of cotton all of a sudden. Those three words were all he could hear, and he clung to them, clung to the voice that spoke them, fighting off another wave of despair as best he could and failing. The hand on his shoulder tensed, while he felt the tea in his hand suddenly being removed, and shortly after, a second hand resting on his other shoulder.

“Don’t fight it. This is me, Kenzo. You can’t pretend you’re all right and expect to fool me. I know that you’re not. If you need a moment, then take a moment. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Tenma knew there wasn’t. He had no problem acknowledging his feelings. It was just that he didn’t want to worry Rudi, but….if he was already breaking down...he knew it was impossible to keep it at bay for long. He squeezed his eyes shut.

“I couldn’t do enough. I couldn’t _be_ enough.” The words came out softly, a little shakily, as he let himself curl further forward, almost doubling over, his hands balling into lightly held fists.

“It wasn’t his fault. If something was wrong, he could tell me anything, and I’d _do_ anything...anything he needed. We’ve always been able to help each other. But this time it wasn’t enough. I just...can't help but think...” 

He paused, then, more softly; “I wasn’t enough to help him.”

Rudi was quiet for a few seconds, giving Tenma’s shoulders a light squeeze, lowering his head.

“Listen, Kenzo….this isn’t going to be easy on you. But I want you to know you’re not alone. If there’s anything that you need...you have me. I’m not Grimmer, I know there’s so much that I can’t do for you. But if there’s anything that I _can_...you’re not alone.”

Tenma didn’t answer, but he felt his heart warm a little. Just a taste of compassion, even if it was futile, spoke volumes to Tenma. Rudi couldn’t do much to heal the ache in his heart...but at the very least he could give Tenma the confidence and the knowledge that he wasn’t alone. If he couldn’t stand any more...if he had to fall, to crumble….there was still someone willing to catch him. That was enough for the moment.

All the same, it still seemed impossible to him. That Grimmer could have even thought to kill himself…

It wasn’t that Tenma entirely rejected the possibility he might hurt himself. As Rudi said, tragedy of such an enormous scale could change a person. He had no way to know how that might change Grimmer. What made it _impossible_ , though, was one simple fact.

Grimmer would never leave him like this.

There was no way that he could ever imagine Grimmer doing something that would so horribly damage his partner. Not when Tenma himself had been so horribly affected. He had felt the blow personally, as the creator of the ADIs. He woke to nightmares enough times, hearing the cries as if it was happening all over again. For Grimmer to consciously decide to leave him...to leave him and do the one thing that would hurt Tenma more than anything else…

That wasn’t like him. _None_ of this was like him. Which meant there was a reason.

There was something he didn’t know.

He felt it again, that sense...the feeling he'd gotten facing the judge. That strange _awareness,_ like he understood something more than what his memory perceived. That intuitive - or perhaps merely hopeful - voice told him that there was more to it, that it wasn't - couldn't be - a suicide.

Until a body was produced, Tenma refused to believe it. The only question left was where he had gone, and why he’d written that note. With such a final tone…it almost made him wonder if there wasn’t more to it, something Grimmer was trying to hide. Or if Grimmer _himself_ was trying to hide.

This was one thing Tenma couldn’t open up to Rudi about. He knew that the criminal psychologist expected him to slowly grieve and move on with his life. But until Tenma was presented with that proof, he had different plans.

Grimmer...was pretty distinctive, impossible to miss, no matter where he went. Someone had to have seen him. Tenma was going to find out for himself.

* * *

It had finally quieted down. The grim task of collecting the bodies and counting the dead had begun, a slow process that would doubtless take a while. 

Grimmer walked with Lunge, silently, between the seemingly endless rows of bodies waiting to be identified. Grimmer wondered if he knew any others, beyond Suk. Ms. Heinemann was somewhere among the dead, possibly here even now.

Compared to the howls of before, it was now hauntingly silent. He could hear both his and Lunge's footsteps as they walked.

“He’d anticipated it all. Even hid and encrypted his work to soften my suspicions. In the end, I unlocked the key that unleashed all of this. It's numbing...and yet...I don’t think I could ever fathom what Tenma must be feeling.”

“How is he faring?”

Grimmer closed his eyes, halting and sighing heavily. “As well as you might expect, all things considered. Something he created was used to commit murder, and then his own efforts to reverse it triggered a horrific tragedy. I’m worried for him.”

Lunge looked him over, expressionless, tired. They were both incredibly... _tired._

“You should take time from work. See to him. I’m quite sure he’s just as worried for you.”

Grimmer gave a hollow sort of chuckle, shaking his head.

“I plan to. He needs it, definitely. Yet, knowing that Johan is somewhere out there...I find that unsettling.” He looked up to the ceiling, at the lights overhead and the flies that circled around them. These weren’t the same insects as the drones he now found ominous and eerie.

“I hear them still, at night, sometimes. I don’t think that will leave, so long as Johan is still out there.”

Lunge looked away, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he kept walking.

“We failed in our first chance. He’s clever. As you said, he thought of everything. We can’t catch a man like that, not as we are. Certainly not the two of us.”

Grimmer quirked a brow, following along, his gaze once more taking in the morbid scene around them. “Then what would you suggest?”

What he got in response was a smirk - rare from Lunge, particularly now. It was a hollow expression, lacking any real mirth.

“He’s thought of every possible angle but one. And that is to be chased by a ghost.”

It only took Grimmer a moment to register what he meant by that. He gave an airy hum. 

“So then, one of us disappears. Indeed, it would give us an advantage if the man hunting him finds himself dead…” His eyes flicked up. “So then, the only question is which of us will be mourned and which will mourn.”

Both Lunge and Grimmer knew, even before either spoke. Grimmer's background, his time spent working in reconnaissance...he was an ideal fit for a covert operation. 

“I was the least affected in the ordeal. My disappearance would certainly be suspicious to him. But you, who had direct involvement both in finding and unlocking Johan’s trap…”

Lunge didn’t look his way then, allowing Grimmer to fill in the blanks for himself. He...felt it was only right, that he should be the one to finish what they’d started. Both for himself, and for Tenma’s sake. Tenma, who certainly didn’t deserve the guilt that weighed him down. But, if he chose this path, Tenma….couldn’t know.

He would try to follow.

To Johan, Tenma would be considered a high risk individual - he was quite possibly the only person with enough skill to compare to Johan’s own. If Tenma was involved, he would absolutely become Johan’s primary target.

But, for him to "die", to leave Kenzo...what that would do to him...

Hurting Kenzo….was the last thing he wanted. Particularly now, when he was so vulnerable. Lunge seemed to sense his apprehension, glancing over his shoulder to the other man.

“We can’t set it in motion immediately. Even for you to disappear, too soon would be suspicious. A month...enough time for him to start to grow comfortable. You will disappear, and shortly after, your belongings, and a note, will be discovered.”

A month….

It wasn't enough time for Kenzo to heal. Nowhere near the time he would need to recover. But if that was all that Grimmer had...

So long as Johan remained unpunished, he was a stain on both of their names, a ghost that would ever haunt them. Grimmer...was trained for this, knew how to track a felon. If he could do this, this last thing, to liberate Tenma of his horrors, and free himself of unpleasant dreams...then he knew he had no choice. The month coming was going to be....difficult.

"You're uncertain."

Grimmer looked to his left, to the ever attentive detective at his side. He glanced down, looking at his hands.

"I'm worried about Kenzo. What will happen to him. The very last thing I could ever dream to do is cause him pain. Especially as he is now."

Lunge gave a thoughtful hum, clasping his hands behind his back. "Would he not find catharsis in knowing that the man who orchestrated such a horrific mass murder faces justice?"

Grimmer swallowed, shaking his head. "It's not the aftermath that worries me. If I disappear...he'll blame himself. I'm afraid of what might happen then."

Lunge paused, halted and fully turned to face Grimmer, his expression more stern, though still...tired, compassionate. It was the most emotion he'd seen on the chief inspector in a long time.

"We are well aware of the capabilities Johan Liebert possesses. Consider this event a resume of sorts. Imagine what he might do in the future. If you care for your partner, you'll think about the future that awaits him. We all experience pain. His will be a temporary one. You will return. The alternative is bleak. We don't know when he will strike again. I would imagine that in that time, he would like to eliminate any threats."

Kenzo...perhaps anyone else on the ADI project team. Anyone who ever knew him.

Lunge...was right, of course. Grimmer sorrowed to ever imagine causing Tenma harm, to hurt him in any way. But right now...it was as he said. The longer Johan was allowed to remain free, the greater the chances were of an even bleaker future.

He really...had no choice, then.

"When all is through and Johan is apprehended, be swift to return to him."

Grimmer nodded slowly, a heaviness in his gut. "I'll keep you updated. Any messages you receive from me must be immediately deleted if I'm truly to be a 'ghost'."

Lunge nodded, his expression softening somewhat as he looked out among the rows once more, toward the door at the far end of the facility. "I hate to burden you. However, as it stands, I can't say I trust many men outside yourself."

Grimmer shook his head, turning and starting toward the door, toward the light outside. There was a hint of something like a smile there, on his face, for a brief moment. "Just make sure you cry for me~!"

One month....it wasn't much. But in that time he would give Kenzo all that he could. Warm moments, warm memories to help him endure a painful absence.

* * *

The noise on the streets was a different kind now, anger and protest towards those who were involved in the Liebert case. Those still alive, at least. Lunge couldn’t blame them. The tragedy was still fresh, wounds still recent. Many lost loved ones and wanted a resolution. The men behind the case that had blundered so terribly, the man behind the killings himself….the public wanted a face to blame and chose the first that they saw. Tenma had been escorted away by a companion, leaving Lunge to become the face to bear their anger, but he endured it well enough. The very same masses had shown their willingness to curse an individual to death even when told the consequences of their actions; their collective anger toward him was nothing.

It wasn’t the first time that Lunge found himself glad that he didn’t bother to keep up with social media, not that he anticipated he would see his name accompanied with any malevolent tags any time soon. 

At least his neighbours didn’t care to heckle him. Lunge retreated safely to his home, ready for evening coffee and the news. He was curious to see if the hearing was being replayed.

Just as he was settling in, his phone buzzed. He pulled it from his pocket, opening the message - a text, from an unknown number that, oddly, made him smile. There were only two words;

_Got him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that hurt more than I thought it would, somehow having pre-estab Tenma/Grimmer came back to bite me painfully
> 
> I’d debated on having Tenma be in on it the whole time, but tbh it’s more fun this way...but then at the same time I feel absolutely _horrible_ for him, he was left in the dark completely :( At least he has hope….and Grimmer will be back…..and has avenged both of their honours
> 
> Now to write something that is actually just plain god damn happy...ffs


End file.
